Kolkata, 18 March (H.S.): Continuing its administrative reshuffle ahead of the West Bengal Assembly Election 2026, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday transferred 13 Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers and appointed them as District Magistrates-cum-District Election Officers (DM-cum-DEOs) in different districts of the state.

According to an official order issued by the Commission, the decision was taken after a review of poll preparedness in the state. The Commission has directed all the officers to assume charge with immediate effect and submit a compliance report regarding their joining by 3 pm on March 19.

As per the order, Jitin Yadav has been posted as DM-cum-DEO of Cooch Behar, Sandeep Ghosh in Jalpaiguri, Vivek Kumar in Uttar Dinajpur and Rajneer Singh Kapur in Malda.

Similarly, R. Arjun has been appointed in Murshidabad, Srikant Palli in Nadia, Sweta Agarwal in Purba Bardhaman, and Smita Pandey as Municipal Commissioner of Kolkata North with additional responsibility as District Election Officer.

Among other appointments, Randhir Kumar has been posted as District Election Officer of Kolkata South, Shilpa Gourisaria in North 24 Parganas, Abhishek Kumar Tiwari in South 24 Parganas, Harishankar Panicker in Darjeeling and T. Balasubramanian in Alipurduar as DM-cum-DEOs.

The Election Commission has made it clear that the transferred officers must immediately take charge of their new assignments. It also reiterated that officers who have been removed from their earlier positions will not be assigned any election-related responsibilities until the completion of the electoral process.

Since the announcement of the election schedule, the Commission has been making a series of changes in the state’s administrative and police set-up. Earlier, key officials including the Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, Director General of Police and the Kolkata Police Commissioner were also replaced.

Experts believe these measures are aimed at ensuring administrative neutrality in sensitive districts and conducting free and fair elections.

Sources indicated that more administrative changes cannot be ruled out in the coming days as the Commission continues to closely monitor election preparedness and make necessary adjustments in postings as required.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh