Bengal SIR observer to BJP government’s advisor: Subrata Gupta once worked for A P J Abdul Kalam
A 1990-batch Bengal cadre IAS officer, he has previously served as jute commissioner of India and was CMD of the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation during the Singur agitation
Subrata Gupta. (ANI) Retired IAS officer and special election observer for the West Bengal Assembly polls Subrata Gupta, who was appointed as the advisor to the BJP government led by Suvendu Adhikari days after the Assembly poll results, had once worked under former President A P J Abdul Kalam in the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
“It is a big responsibility. I would like everyone’s cooperation. I will seek the blessings of the people of Bengal so that I can work properly and help the state government,” Gupta said after assuming charge on Monday.
Gupta said his priorities would include employment generation, healthcare, education, women’s safety and empowerment. Stressing the importance of industrial growth, Gupta added: “Work for industrialisation will also be started immediately because industrialisation cannot be completed within a short time.”
Another appointment of the Adhikari government that raised eyebrows was that of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal as the state’s Chief Secretary.
Agarwal, who is set to retire in July, had faced criticism from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Gupta’s beginnings
A 1990-batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre, Gupta was once considered among the influential bureaucrats during the Left Front regime. An alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, where he completed both graduation and postgraduation, Gupta initially worked on a DRDO project under Kalam before appearing for the UPSC examination. In his very first attempt in 1990, he secured an all-India rank of four.
Over the years, Gupta served as District Magistrate in several districts of West Bengal. During the final phase of the Left Front government, he was appointed Managing Director of the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC). His tenure from 2007 to 2011 coincided with the politically turbulent Singur episode, when Tata Motors withdrew its Nano project from Singur and shifted operations to Gujarat following protests.
During the Mamata Banerjee government tenure, Gupta moved to central deputation and served as Chairman and Managing Director of the Jute Corporation of India, where he prepared a report on alleged irregularities in jute sack procurement. He also served as Secretary in the Union Ministry of Food Processing.
After returning to the state, however, Gupta never received a major administrative posting during the TMC government’s tenure. He briefly served as Kolkata Municipal Commissioner during the Covid-19 pandemic, but was removed following differences with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the appointment of a political functionary as administrator of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.
In November 2025, Gupta returned to prominence after being appointed by the Election Commission (EC) as a Special Roll Observer for the SIR ahead of the Assembly elections. The exercise was aimed at identifying and removing ineligible voters to prepare what the poll panel described as a “clean” electoral roll.
Administrative circles credit Gupta with helping ensure a largely peaceful and violence-free election process. A senior EC official said: “Gupta’s inclusion in the EC helped us make necessary changes in the administration and police, which helped the administration act neutrally. In many cases, he overturned district administration decisions because he knew the state block by block.”
The TMC, however, accused Gupta of advancing the BJP’s political agenda during the SIR exercise and alleged that minority voters were selectively deleted from the rolls.
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