In a significant move ahead of the vote counting for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has appointed former state Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar as a counting observer for the Dumdum Barrackpore organizational district.
The decision was taken during a meeting held on Saturday by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and party leader Abhishek Banerjee with party counting agents. According to party sources, the leadership decided to deploy counting observers across all organisational districts in the state to closely monitor the counting process.
As a part of this strategy, Rajeev Kumar has been given the charge of the Dumdum Barrackpore region. The leadership also assigned responsibilities to other prominent figures. Actor- Politician Deepak Adhikari (Dev) has been appointed observer for the Ghatal organizational district, while June Malia will oversee counting in Medinipur.
This district based observer system is not new. During the previous Lok Sabha elections, the TMC had deployed similar observers in key constituencies. For example, Rajeev Banerjee was sent to Tamluk, Shantanu Sen to Arambagh, and Samir Chakraborty to Bankura. The current move indicates a continuation of that strategy.
The Saturday meeting primarily focused on preparing counting agents for the day of vote counting. Party leaders instructed workers to remain alert and not be influenced by exit poll predictions. According to party sources, Mamata Baneejee and Abhishek Banerjee suggested that exit polls showing the BJP ahead were aimed at influencing market sentiment and morale.
Leaders also emphasized maintaining confidence, recalling that similar exit poll trends were seen during the 2021 Assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Rajeev Kumar, a senior IPS officer of the 1989 batch, retired as the acting Director General of West Bengal Police on January 31, 2026. He later joined active politics and was nominated by the TMC to the Rajya Sabha on February 27. He took oath as a Member of Parliament in early April 2026.
The 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections were held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with counting scheduled for May 4. The elections witnessed high voter turnout and intense political competition between the TMC and the BJP.
With counting day approaching, the appointment of observers across districts reflects TMC’s attempt to closely monitor the process and ensure coordination among party workers at the ground level.
