Fresh administrative changes likely in West Bengal under Suvendu Adhikari government, say officials

PTI, May 10, 2026, Kolkata : The police and administrative machinery of the newly installed Suvendu Adhikari-led BJP government in West Bengal appears set for another phase of restructuring in the coming months, with officials indicating that the exercise may be carried out in stages.

The transition towards a more stable administrative structure is expected to follow the Election Commission’s large-scale pre-poll reshuffle across the state bureaucracy and police establishment, officials said.

The first clear sign of the transition emerged within hours of Adhikari assuming office on May 9, as the government moved swiftly with two key appointments, followed by a series of reassignments in the state’s mid-level bureaucracy.

Retired IAS officer Subrata Gupta, who had served as the poll panel’s Special Roll Observer during the SIR exercise, was named Advisor to the Chief Minister, while Shantanu Bala, Additional District Magistrate of South 24 Parganas, was appointed Private Secretary to the Chief Minister.

The appointments were widely viewed within administrative circles as the opening moves of a broader restructuring of the state apparatus.

Gupta replaced two former Chief Secretaries — Alapan Bandyopadhyay and H. K. Dwivedi — who tendered their resignations as Chief Advisors to former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on May 5, a day after poll results confirmed a change of government in the state.

Bala, on the other hand, replaced career civil servant Gautam Sanyal, the erstwhile Principal Secretary to Banerjee, who held the position as co-terminus with that of the former Chief Minister.

Soon after, the state government initiated another significant reshuffle within the administrative establishment, signalling a wider realignment of power structures in Bengal’s bureaucracy.

In a sweeping order, at least 46 WBCS (Executive) officers — who served as private secretaries and officers on special duty to ministers in the outgoing regime — were reassigned to new postings across the state administration.

The transition also extended to the Chief Minister’s Office, with the state reshuffling 16 officers attached to the office.

“The Mamata Banerjee government never cared for meritorious IAS and IPS officers of the state, isolated them, often forcing them to leave Bengal,” Chief Minister Adhikari told reporters on Saturday.

“But this government will need these officers to implement the policy decisions the new Cabinet makes,” he added, hinting at further changes in the state’s police and executive network.

In the run-up to the Assembly elections announced on March 15, the Election Commission transferred 483 officials in one of the largest pre-poll reshuffles witnessed in West Bengal.

The reshuffle covered multiple levels of governance, including senior bureaucrats, police leadership, district administrations, returning officers, BDOs, and officers posted at police stations across the state.

Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravorty was replaced by Dushyant Nariala, while Home Secretary Sanghamitra Ghosh took charge in place of J. C. Meena.

Director General of Police Peeyush Pandey was removed, with Siddh Nath Gupta appointed acting DGP. Kolkata Police Commissioner Supratim Sarkar was also transferred and replaced by Ajay Kumar Nand. Pandey was later reassigned as the state’s Director (Security), replacing Manoj Kumar Verma.

The Election Commission also ordered the removal of 19 senior IPS officers — including six police commissioners and 13 district SPs — besides transferring five DIG-rank officers, 11 district magistrates, 73 returning officers who concurrently served as subdivisional officers, 83 block development officers, and several police station-level officers.

The Commission maintained that the reshuffles were necessitated by inputs from poll observers and intelligence agencies regarding prevailing law-and-order concerns and apprehensions over the perceived neutrality of certain officers.

It also stated that the exercise drew lessons from the post-poll violence that followed the 2021 Assembly elections.

The moves had triggered strong political reactions from the TMC and prompted legal challenges, including petitions in the Supreme Court, which later declined to interfere with the Election Commission’s authority.

Sources in the state administration said Saturday’s appointments were viewed as an unmistakable attempt to recast the administrative structure under the new BJP government and may only be the beginning of further changes.

Some officials also indicated that IAS and IPS officers from other states could be brought to West Bengal on deputation, while reciprocal transfers involving Bengal cadre officers may also take place.

In a meeting chaired by Adhikari shortly after his swearing-in ceremony and held at the PWD tent in the Maidan area, the Chief Minister reportedly interacted with the Chief Secretary and Home Secretary in the presence of the DGP and Kolkata Police Commissioner.

Although no official details emerged from the meeting, eyewitnesses said officers were seen leaving the venue carrying files related to bureaucratic and police appointments.

Officials interpreted the meeting as a possible indication of a wider recasting of Adhikari’s administrative team.

Sources also noted that the first administrative meeting convened by Adhikari as Chief Minister would involve senior police officials, including SPs and district officers, with law and order and administrative preparedness expected to be key agenda items.