While CEO sources said the transfer was routine, others claimed that the decision was linked to BJP leaders’ meeting with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora last month. Ahead of the upcoming Assembly election, three senior officials in the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) officer were transferred on Monday.
Among the three was Additional Chief Electoral Officer Saibal Barman who was tasked with keeping an eye on violations related to the model code of conduct. The two other officials were Joint Chief Electoral Officer Anamika Majumdar, in charge of electronic voting machines (EVMs), and Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Amitjyoti Bhattacharji, in charge of the media cell. It’s not clear where the three officials were transferred or who will replace them.
While CEO sources said the transfer was routine, others claimed that the decision was linked to BJP leaders’ meeting with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora last month.
In the meeting, BJP leaders in a letter to Arora had demanded an impartial Assembly poll and highlighted “deteriorating law-and-order situation”.