Kolkata: The Election Commission of India (ECI) officially designated Neelam Meena as the new Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal. The appointment follows the elevation of former CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal to the position of Chief Secretary of the state.
A notification from the West Bengal government read, “The Election Commission of India, in consultation with the Government of West Bengal, hereby designates Smt. Neelam Meena, IAS, [WB:1998] as the Chief Electoral Officer for the State of West Bengal with effect from the date she takes over charge and until further orders in place of Shri Manoj Kumar Agarwal, IAS.”
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee launched a sharp attack on the Election Commission and former West Bengal CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal, alleging bias and collusion during the electoral process.
Referring to the conduct of the election machinery, Banerjee alleged that the Election Commission did not act impartially and instead favoured the BJP during the polls.
“We have said this several times that the Election Commission did not act fairly, rather they favoured the BJP…there was a complete understanding between the CEO and the BJP…in the counting halls, they rigged the whole election. Candidates and agents of TMC were lynched and thrown away…CISF and CRPF have played the role of looters…rampant rigging had been done,” he alleged.
His remarks came in response to the recent administrative development in which the BJP government appointed Manoj Kumar Agarwal as the Chief Secretary.
“The Governor is pleased to appoint Manoj Kumar Agarwal, IAS (WB:1990), Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, and ex officio Additional Chief Secretary, Home and Hill Affairs (Election) Department, Govt. of West Bengal, as Chief Secretary to the Government of West Bengal until further order(s),” another notification from the state government stated.
Extending his criticism beyond West Bengal, the TMC leader also referred to the appointment of former Kerala Chief Electoral Officer Rathan U Kelkar as Secretary to the Chief Minister in Kerala, terming it “wrong”.
Earlier in May, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi strongly criticised the newly elected BJP government in West Bengal after Manoj Kumar Agarwal was appointed as the Chief Secretary.
In a post on X, the Congress MP once again alleged collusion between the Election Commission and the BJP.
Rahul Gandhi wrote, “In BJP-EC’s ‘Chor Baazar’ (Thieves’ Market) – the bigger the theft, the bigger the reward.”
Earlier this month, the BJP government appointed Manoj Kumar Agarwal as West Bengal Chief Secretary.
In the run-up to the State Assembly elections, both the TMC and Congress had alleged that the ECI was working at the behest of the BJP in West Bengal. The stand-off between the TMC and the ECI over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll had also made headlines.
The 2026 Assembly election results marked a decisive mandate for the BJP, which registered a significant surge by winning 206 seats in the 294-member Assembly, a major jump from the 77 seats it had secured in the previous election.
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