‘Shameless’: TMC slams Bengal CEO Manoj Agarwal’s appointment as Chief Secretary

Just days after the BJP won the Assembly elections in West Bengal, the party appointed a senior IAS officer and Bengal chief electoral officer as the state’s new chief secretary.

The move has triggered backlash from the opposition as the CEO is required not to be affiliated with any political party. Agarwal had just recently supervised the Assembly election in the state.

Opposition parties like the Trinamool Congress and Congress have questioned the appointment. The termed the move “shameless” and questioned the neutrality of elections. They noted that the Election Commission's top official has just been appointed to the highest bureaucratic post in the BJP-led government.

The BJP, however, defended its decision, saying that Agarwal is the senior-most eligible officer under service rules.

TMC leader Saket Gokhale wrote on X, “Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Aggarwal, who conducted the West Bengal election for the ECI, has been appointed Chief Secretary of Bengal by the new BJP Govt. BJP & ECI are now being open about stealing the election. Are the courts BLIND or COMPLICIT? This is beyond shameless.”

Interestingly, Agarwal was originally chosen as the CEO by the Election Commission from a panel sent by the The former TMC government

TMC MP Sagarika Ghose also slammed the move, saying, “Officers working with the Election Commission @ECISVEEP in Bengal, as so-called “neutral umpires” in the Bengal assembly polls, overseeing deletions of lakhs of voters, are appointed as top bureaucrats in the @BJP4India government in Bengal. Is this a quid pro quo? Does anyone now seriously believe that #bengalassemblypolls 2026 were free and fair? The country is entitled to ask.”

As the Ceo Agarwal supervised the Election Commission-mandated SIR electoral revision, which resulted in the deletion of around 91 lakh voters prior to the election.

Agarwal, who is a 1990 batch IAS officer in the West Bengal cadre, is due to retire on July 31. However, sources said that he could receive at least a 6-month extension, subject to recommendation by the state and approval by the centre.

He has previously handled departments like the Personal and administrative reforms, food, fire and emergency services and forest.

Sources said that the he is a low-profile administrator.

The appointment has come as incumbent Chief Secretary Dushyant Nariala was moved to the post of Principal Resident Commissioner in New Delhi.