The Election Commission of India (ECI) has deputed 15 senior IPS officers from West Bengal to serve as election observers in other poll-bound states, including Tamil Nadu and Kerala, as part of a wider administrative overhaul ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
According to reports, the officers selected for observer duties include senior functionaries holding key positions such as police commissioners, deputy inspectors general (DIGs), and superintendents of police (SPs). Among those named are Muralidhar Sharma, Syed Waqar Raza, Alok Rajoria, Indira Mukhopadhyay and Akash Magharia.
The Commission has assigned Muralidhar Sharma, currently Commissioner of Police, Bidhannagar, and Syed Waqar Raza, Commissioner of Police, Siliguri, as observers for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. Several others, including IPS officers Abhijit Bandyopadhyay and Dhritiman Sarkar, have been deputed to Kerala, while Sandeep Karra has been sent to Nagaland in connection with a by-election. Amandeep has also been assigned observer duties in Tamil Nadu.
The full list of officers includes Rashid Munir Khan, Sandeep Karra, Priyabrata Roy, Praveen Kumar Tripathi, Mukesh, Muralidhar Sharma, Indira Mukhopadhyay, Dhritiman Sarkar, C Sudhakar, Bhaskar Mukhopadhyay, Abhijit Bandyopadhyay, Amandeep, Akash Magharia, Alok Rajoria and Syed Waqar Raza.
Several of these officers have been deputed even before being assigned fresh postings within the state. For instance, Alok Rajoria and Bhaskar Mukhopadhyay were recently removed from their roles as DIG, Burdwan Range and DIG, Presidency Range, respectively, and have now been sent out as observers.
The list also features officers from intelligence and specialised units, including DIG (IB) Akash Magharia, IG (IB, North Bengal) C Sudhakar, SS IB officers Amandeep and Abhijit Bandyopadhyay, SS IB Dhritiman Sarkar, and SS CID Indira Mukhopadhyay. Senior officers such as IGP IB Mukesh and IGP STF Praveen Kumar Tripathi have also been included.
Aditionally, the ECI has ordered the removal of five DIG-rank officers across West Bengal and directed that their replacements assume charge by 11 am the following day. Ajit Singh Yadav has been appointed as DIG of Murshidabad, while Anjali Singh will take over Jalpaiguri. Amit Kumar Bharat Rathore has been posted as DIG of Raiganj Range, Kankar Prasad Barui as DIG of Presidency Range, and Srihari Pandey as DIG of Burdwan Range.
These measures form part of a series of sweeping changes initiated by the Election Commission since the announcement of the poll schedule. On the day the elections were declared, the Commission removed Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty and Home Secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena, appointing Dushyant Nariala and Sanghamitra Ghosh in their place.
Meena has since been deputed as General Observer for the Tiruchirappalli West Assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu.
Further changes followed on Monday, when acting Director General of Police Piyush Pandey was replaced by Siddhinath Gupta. ADG (Law and Order) Vineet Goyal was also shifted, with Ajey Mukund Ranade taking over. Kolkata Police Commissioner Supratim Sarkar was removed and replaced by Ajay Kumar Nanda.
Within 24 hours, the Commission ordered the transfer of 19 additional senior police officers, including ADG-rank officials. Sukesh Kumar Jain was replaced by K Jayaraman as ADG, North Bengal, while Rajiv Mishra was replaced by Rajesh Kumar Singh as ADG, South Bengal.
The Election Commission has maintained that these actions fall within its constitutional mandate under Article 324, which grants it “superintendence, direction, and control” over the conduct of elections. Officials indicated that the extensive reshuffle is aimed at ensuring administrative neutrality and maintaining law and order in the run-up to the Assembly elections.
