Bengal governor seeks 3rd name to select State Election Commissioner

West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose has asked the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government to provide the name of a third official who could be considered as the state election commissioner (SEC). The state government initially proposed former chief secretary Rajiva Sinha but the governor returned the file, asking why Sinha should be the only one on the shortlist.

“Subsequently, the government added the name of Ajit Ranjan Burman, additional chief secretary. But the Raj Bhawan has sought a third name. The government is yet to select an officer,” said the government official familiar with the matter.

Bose declined to comment on the tussle between his office and the Trinamool Congress government.

“The right decision will be taken at the right time,” the governor said.

The SEC’s office fell vacant on Monday when SK Das stepped down on completing his term.

The state election commission is mandated to conduct elections to urban local bodies and panchayat bodies in the state. The first task of the next SEC will be to conduct the panchayat elections.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee said: “The post is vacant now and panchayat elections are approaching. This is the first time we are facing this sort of trouble. Let good sense prevail. I will not bow before anyone.”

Banerjee said the state government sent the name to Raj Bhawan before the tenure of the last SEC came to an end. “If the governor wants another name he can say it,” she said.

Raising questions on the SECs appointed by the TMC government in the past, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded the deployment of central paramilitary force for the panchayat polls, recalling that the TMC won 34% of the panchayat polls without a contest in 2018.

Samik Bhattacharya, Bengal BJP’s chief spokesperson, said, “TMC wants SECs of its choice so that elections can be manipulated. The governor is empowered by the Constitution to protect the democratic rights of citizens.”

TMC state vice-president Jay Prakash Majumdar said: “No law says a governor can stop the appointment of SEC because it is the prerogative of the state. A governor can send back a file with queries but ultimately, he has to give his nod to the appointment of an officer recommended by a state.”

The TMC leader said the governor’s office in several Opposition-ruled states was being controlled by the Centre to serve the BJP’s interests. “The Centre is directly or indirectly interfering in the affairs of governments run by opposition parties,” Majumdar said.