New Delhi, 20 March 2026: The Election Commission issued orders transferring 13 IAS officers serving as District Election Officers (DEOs) and 20 IPS officers. Notably, the DEOs of Kolkata North and Kolkata South constituencies were among those reshuffled. Officials termed this scale of transfers “unprecedented,” given that prior exercises in the lead-up to elections involved routine but far fewer changes.
Among the IAS officers appointed as District Magistrates-cum-DEOs:
Jitin Yadav – Cooch Behar, Sandeep Ghosh – Jalpaiguri, Vivek Kumar – Uttar Dinajpur, R Arjun – Murshidabad
For Kolkata, Smita Pandey has been named Municipal Commissioner of Kolkata Municipal Corporation and DEO, Kolkata North, while Randhir Kumar will serve as DEO, Kolkata South.
The IPS postings as Deputy Inspectors General (DIGs) cover: Raiganj, Murshidabad, Bardhaman, Presidency, and Jalpaiguri ranges. Additionally, two IPS officers, Murlidhar Sharma (Bidhannagar City Police Commissioner) and Waquar Raza (Siliguri Commissionerate Chief), were appointed as poll observers for Tamil Nadu.
Five IAS officers have been sent to other states as election observers: JP Meena (former Home Secretary), Antara Acharya, Parwez Ahmed Siddiqui, P Mohan Gandhi, Priyanka Singla
Seventeen officers from the current reshuffle were designated to oversee polls in states outside Bengal.
