Why Mamata Banerjee has hit out at EC over ‘sweeping’, ‘unilateral’ transfers of officials

With Bengal seeing the most changes, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hit out at the EC, terming the transfers as “sweeping”. She wrote to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, calling the move “a matter of deep concern and surprise” and asking him to “refrain from adopting such unilateral measures in the future”.

What action has the EC taken so far?

Starting Monday, the EC has been making appointments at various levels of state governments and police. The first such move was on Monday morning, when the EC announced the transfer of the Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary, Home and Hill Affairs, in Bengal. In total, at least 21 top IAS and IPS officers have been transferred by the Commission in Bengal, including the state’s DGP and Kolkata Police Commissioner.

While the reason for the transfers was not mentioned in the orders, CEC Gyanesh Kumar said that the Election Commission is “committed to holding transparent, free of fear, violence-free and inducement-free elections,” in a written comment provided by the ECI along with the orders.

In Assam, the EC has changed 10 senior officers — five Superintendents of Police and five District Election Officers (that is, the District Magistrates). Similarly, five transfers in Kerala and four in Tamil Nadu were effected from Monday to Wednesday.

What are the legal provisions on the transfer of officials during elections?

During an election and electoral roll revision, all officers concerned with related tasks are treated as though they are on deputation to the ECI. This is as per Section 13CC of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which says, “Chief Electoral Officers, District Election Officers, etc., deemed to be on deputation to Election Commission.”

“The officers referred to in this part and any other officer or staff employed in connection with the preparation, revision and correction of the electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all elections shall be deemed to be on deputation to the Election Commission for the period during which they are so employed and such officers and staff shall, during that period, be subject to the control, superintendence and discipline of the Election Commission,” it adds.

Though this section was added through an amendment in 1989, there was disagreement between the EC and the government on what “discipline” meant. In 1993, the TN Seshan-led EC moved the Supreme Court for clarification on this.

As a result, the EC and government agreed to the terms of settlement in 2000, which made it clear that the EC could suspend and substitute officers for dereliction of duty. It is under these provisions that the EC continues to act during elections and revision processes to transfer officers.

What is Mamata Banerjee’s charge?

Soon after the first orders were made public, the West Bengal Chief Minister wrote to the CEC on Monday, saying the “sweeping” changes had been made without any cogent reason or allegation of misconduct or lapse by the officials concerned with regard to the conduct of elections.

While acknowledging the EC’s powers to take action, the Chief Minister wrote that historically, the commission had consulted the state government before making such changes. Usually, the commission seeks a panel of officers from the state government to choose from when replacing an official. However, there is no provision mandating it in law.

“It is therefore a matter of deep concern and surprise that the heads of the administrative machinery in the State of West Bengal have been removed within hours of the press release announcing the General Election to West Bengal Legislative Assembly, 2026. This has been done in an arbitrary manner, without seeking a panel of officers from the State Government…” she wrote.

What is the precedent?

The practice of the EC replacing officers during an election is not new. EC sources say this is done to maintain a level playing field by removing officials perceived to be close to a political dispensation.

In fact, during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the EC removed then-West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar for the duration of the polls. Banerjee then reinstated him afterwards. After retiring from the IPS, Kumar recently joined the TMC and was elected to the Rajya Sabha on its ticket. Also, during the 2024 polls, the EC removed the Home Secretaries of six states, including Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.