KOLKATA (20.05.2026): The West Bengal government has sent a panel of three IAS officers to the Election Commission of India (ECI) for the latter to appoint one of them as the new Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the state after former CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal (IAS: 1990: WB) has been appointed as Chief Secretary of the state. The panel of the three officers included Neelam Meena (IAS: 1998: WB), Tanmay Chakrabarty (IAS: 2006: WB) and Moumita Godara Basu (IAS: 2007: WB).

ECI-appointed former special poll observer Subrata Gupta (IAS: 1990: WB) has been appointed as the chief advisor to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Both Agarwal and Gupta were credited with effectively handling the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the state. Agarwal  became the CEO of West Bengal in March 2025.