Subrata Gupta Appointed Advisor to West Bengal Chief Minister; Administrative Meetings Planned on May 11

PTI, May 9, 2026, Kolkata: Retired IAS officer Subrata Gupta was on Saturday appointed the advisor to West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, according to a notification.

Gupta, an officer of the 1990 batch, was engaged by the Election Commission in November last year as the Special Roll Observer for the SIR exercise, held prior to the recently-concluded Assembly elections.

"Gupta's vast experience is expected to help the new administration in policy coordination and governance-related matters," an official said.

The new BJP government also appointed IAS officer Shantanu Bala as the Chief Minister's private secretary, according to another notification.

Bala, an officer of the 2017 batch, was the Additional District Magistrate of South 24 Parganas in his last assignment.

"His appointment is part of the restructuring of the Chief Minister's Office following the change in government," another official said.

Both officers have been asked to take charge of their new assignments immediately, according to the notifications.

The government also transferred 46 WBCS (Executive) officers, who had been posted as private secretaries and officers on special duty (OSDs) to ministers in the TMC dispensation.

The government also reassigned 16 officers posted in the Chief Minister's Office.

Bengal’s Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who was sworn in on Saturday, will hold his government's first administrative meeting on May 11, officials said.

Superintendents of police and senior officials of all districts will take part in that meeting, the first one of the state's maiden BJP government, during which law and order and administrative preparedness will be discussed.

The first cabinet meeting of the government is also likely to be held in the later half of next week, officials said.

After taking the oath of office on Saturday, Adhikari held a meeting with Chief Secretary Dushyant Nariala, Director General of Police Siddh Nath Gupta, and a few police and civil officials to review the law and order situation in the state.

Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nand was also present at the meeting, sources said.

Sources in the state administration said that during the meeting held at a PWD office, it was decided that the oath-taking ceremony for newly elected MLAs will be held on Wednesday and Thursday.

"The government's immediate focus is to ensure continuity in administration and public services during the transition phase. The chief minister has made it clear that ongoing projects must continue without interruption," another senior bureaucrat said.

The new CM also enquired about the operations of various schemes introduced by the previous Trinamool Congress (TMC) government and directed the chief secretary to ensure that the schemes continue to function smoothly without disruption, the sources added.

Adhikari also enquired about the progress of the renovation work being carried out at the iconic Writers’ Buildings, a nearly 250-year-old edifice in the heart of Kolkata, which is likely to be the state secretariat.

The Mamata Banerjee government's seat of power has been at ‘Nabanna’, a new 14-storey building in Howrah. Banerjee left Writers’ Buildings, which has been the state secretariat since Independence, for Nabanna in 2013, two years after she first came to power in the state.

Officials said that it would take some time before the entire infrastructure becomes operational at Writers’ Buildings.

"Renovation and infrastructure work are still underway at Writers’ Buildings. Till the work is completed, key meetings will continue from Nabanna to ensure there is no disruption in governance," a senior state bureaucrat told PTI.

In the interim period, a section of the state Assembly complex has been refurbished for official use. A new access ramp has been constructed outside the Chief Minister's chamber. A nameplate identifying Adhikari as the Chief Minister has also been put up.