EC withdraws transfer of Murlidhar Sharma, Waqar Raja; they will stay in Bengal

In a surprising turn of events, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has partially backtracked on its recent order regarding the transfer of senior IPS officers from West Bengal. Within 24 hours of directing fifteen high-ranking officials to report to other states for election duty, the Commission has revised its decision. It has now been confirmed that two prominent officers—Muralidhar Sharma, the former Bidhannagar Commissioner, and Syed Waqar Raja, the former Siliguri Commissioner—will not be sent to foreign states for the time being. They are instructed to remain in West Bengal until further notice, marking a significant pause in the Commission's aggressive reshuffling strategy.

Despite this specific rollback, the mandate remains unchanged for the other thirteen IPS officers on the original list. These officials, including Rashid Munir Khan, Sandeep Kara, and Praveen Kumar Tripathi, among others, will proceed to Tamil Nadu and Kerala to serve as election observers. The Commission’s decision to utilize these experienced Bengal cadre officers in other poll-bound states is part of its standard protocol to ensure impartial oversight, though the sudden exemption of Sharma and Raja has sparked much curiosity within political and administrative circles.

This administrative volatility comes amidst a broader crackdown by the ECI, which saw the overnight removal of the state’s Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, and the Kolkata Police Commissioner immediately following the election announcement. The sweeping changes also affected several District Magistrates and DIGs across key ranges like Murshidabad and Jalpaiguri. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already voiced strong opposition to these moves, alleging that the Commission has been carrying out these massive transfers without any prior consultation with the state government.