Suvendu Adhikari reshuffles administration, appoints Subrata Gupta as advisor and Manoj Agarwal as Chief Secretary, ends extensions and nominated posts over age 60
Suvendu Adhikari
Days after taking the oath as the chief minister of West Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari has reshuffled officials in the administration and made some new appointments. The new government on Sunday appointed retired IAS officer Subrata Gupta as the Advisor to Adhikari.
Within the next 48 hours, West Bengal’s Chief Election Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal, who oversaw the recently held state assembly elections and Special Intensive Revision (SIR), was picked as the Chief Secretary.
Adhikari has recently decided to terminate the tenure of nominated members, directors, and chairpersons of various boards under the State Government. Additionally, he has decided to end the service extensions of individuals serving in various departments and boards of the State Government beyond the age of 60.
‘Brazen Collusion, Connivance Between ECI And BJP’: Oppn
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh alleged these appointments reflect the brazen collusion and connivance between the ECI and BJP. “There is no longer even an attempt to keep the collusion discrete or concealed. The appointments are a testimony that the ECI was not impartial and acted exclusively to benefit the BJP. An entire state went to election with 27 lakh people being debarred from voting. This was tactfully executed by the ECI to create an electoral advantage for BJP,” he wrote on X.
Former Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale questioned the government’s move and said this is beyond shameless.
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.
— Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale) May 11, 2026
TMC Rajya Sabha Derek O’Brien took a jibe, saying this is “purely a coincidence, surely”.
TMC MP Sagrika Ghose said “neutral umpire” Manoj Agarwal is rewarded with the post of top bureaucrat of the BJP dispensation in West Bengal.
However, the BJP defended Agarwal’s appointment, saying it is in line with its promise to restore the dignity of the laws of the land.
“Unlike Mamta Banerjee, who had subverted the bureaucracy by blatantly flouting the rules governing the IAS by superseding dozens of officers, the BJP Government of West Bengal has appointed the senior most IAS officer working in the state, Shri Manoj Agarwal, as the Chief Secretary of West Bengal in keeping with it’s promise to restore the dignity of the laws of the land,” BJP said in a post on X.
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