The Election Commission of India (ECI) has stirred the pot in West Bengal by selecting 15 IAS and 10 IPS officers for deployment as Special Roll Observers (SROs) in other states’ Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercises. Announced via an official note to the state secretariat on Wednesday, the officers are set for training on February 5-6 before heading to their postings.
This isn’t just routine shuffling; it’s a direct response to the state government’s repeated failure to respond to ECI’s calls for officer nominations—three times over. Sources confirm the poll panel had no option but to act unilaterally to keep voter roll revisions on track.
Controversy erupted when TMC spotlighted Home Secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena’s inclusion, challenging whether the ECI can commandeer a top state official for out-of-state duties. Party vice-president Jayprakash Majumdar branded the move as BJP’s puppetry over the commission, timed suspiciously before multi-state polls.
“Why not use officers from non-election states? This is BJP’s game plan,” he charged. BJP’s state counterpart, Jagnnath Chattopadhyay, rebutted by emphasizing ECI’s adherence to established norms.
The episode exposes simmering frictions between central electoral authorities and state machinery in Bengal, a state long accused of electoral irregularities. With training underway soon, these SROs bear the weight of ensuring tamper-proof voter lists, a cornerstone of fair elections. This could herald stricter oversight mechanisms in the lead-up to 2024’s high-stakes battles.