Mass Bureaucratic Shuffle in West Bengal Raises Eyebrows Ahead of SIR. What Is the Mamata Banerjee Government Trying to Hide?

In a move that has stirred a major political storm, the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government carried out one of the biggest single-day bureaucratic reshuffles  transferring over 500 senior officials just hours before the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The timing of this decision, coming right before the voter list revision process, has triggered sharp reactions from various parties including the BJP, which accused the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) of “panic-driven manipulation” to protect fake voters in the state.

According to official data, the reshuffle order was dated October 24, but transfer details were uploaded in phases on the state government’s website both before and after the EC made its SIR announcement. Early in the day, postings of 61 IAS and 145 WBCS (Executive) officers were uploaded, followed by six IAS and 315 WBCS officials soon after the EC’s press briefing.

The list included the transfer of 14 District Magistrates, along with numerous Additional District Magistrates (ADMs), Sub-Divisional Officers (SDOs), and Block Development Officers (BDOs). The move impacts several key administrative positions across politically sensitive districts. For instance, HIDCO MD Shashank Sethi has been posted as DM of North 24 Parganas, replacing Rajarshi Mitra, who now moves to Murshidabad. Dhaval Jain, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation commissioner, has been appointed DM of Birbhum, while Sumit Gupta from South 24 Parganas replaces him.

Other transfers include Kontam Sudhir, the Haldia Development Authority CEO, now posted as DM of Purulia, and Kuhuk Bhushan, previously Panchayat and Rural Development Special Secretary, named as DM of Kalimpong. The reshuffle also covered strategic districts like Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Murshidabad, Malda, Hooghly, Jhargram, and both Purba and Paschim Medinipur.

The BJP has strongly criticised the timing and intent of the reshuffle, calling it a “last-minute manipulation” aimed at disrupting the EC’s SIR process. “CM Mamata Banerjee is sensing trouble for her party once the SIR is successfully completed and a large number of fake voters are deleted from the rolls,” BJP IT cell had Amit Malviya said.

Party leaders allege that the reshuffle was designed to position loyal officers in districts known for illegal infiltration and fake voter entries. The BJP claims that by reshuffling DMs, SDOs, and BDOs right before the SIR schedule which runs from November 4 to December 4, with draft rolls due on December 9 and the final list on February 7 the TMC is attempting to retain control over the process before the EC’s authority becomes binding.

The BJP has vowed to closely monitor each district and every official involved in the exercise, asserting that “every name, every district, every resource has been mapped.”

The Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision is a pan-India exercise meant to update and verify electoral rolls. It will be conducted across 12 States and Union Territories, including West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Goa, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

However, West Bengal stands out as the only state to have executed such an extensive administrative reshuffle right before the SIR announcement. Political observers note that this move could complicate coordination between state officials and EC-appointed observers, especially since any further transfers after the notification of the SIR schedule would now require EC approval.

The EC has maintained that it has “mechanisms in place” to ensure that the process remains free from external interference, but the timing of the Bengal transfers has nonetheless sparked concern about political intent and administrative neutrality.

While the TMC and Mamata Banerjee has defended the reshuffle as a “routine administrative measure,” opposition parties view it as a sign of nervousness. The BJP argues that Mamata Banerjee’s government fears that the cleansing of fake voter lists will expose the scale of illegal infiltration from Bangladesh and dismantle the vote-bank politics that has long benefited her party.

According to political analysts, the TMC’s dominance in border districts such as North 24 Parganas, Murshidabad, and Malda has often been linked to infiltration networks and bogus voter enrolments. The EC’s strict scrutiny through SIR could potentially upend electoral arithmetic in these areas, prompting what the BJP calls a “panic-driven bureaucratic reshuffle.”

Hence the reshuffle has raised legitimate questions about transparency, timing, and motive.

If the SIR succeeds in removing fake and illegal entries, it could mark a turning point in West Bengal’s electoral history, restoring voter integrity and public trust in the process.