West Bengal Chief Election Officer Manoj Agarwal appointed state's chief secretary

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Election Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal has been appointed as the new West Bengal Chief Secretary on Monday. His retirement is due in July this year.

In an order dated May 11, it read, “The Governor is pleased to appoint Shri Manoj Kumar Agarwal, IAS (WB:1990), Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal and ex-officio Additional Chief Secretary, Home and Hill Affairs (Election) Department, Govt. of West Bengal as Chief Secretary to the Government of West Bengal...'

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Agarwal was a former Bengal food and supplies secretary and had filed an FIR over PDS irregularities in 2018.

A former IITian with a chequered career was the chief electoral officer of West Bengal and conducted the 2026 Assembly polls in Bengal successfully. He has served in various posts during his tenure.

A 1990 batch officer, was the Personal Secretary of late Priyaranjan Dasmunsi at New Delhi. He was known to be close to Dasmunsi.
Meanwhile, Dushyant Nariala, a 1993 batch IAS, and the present chief secretary, who was appointed during ECI reshuffle, as Principal Resident Commissioner New Delhi, was filed against Agarwal in connection with a case of disproportionate assets, filed by the CBI in 2009. However, that case was dismissed in 2015.

Agarwal today conducted meetings with administrative officials at the state secretariat.

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Agarwal’s appointment comes a day after Subrata Gupta who was EC’s special observer, ECI, was appointed as the advisor to chief minister.