Former Bengal CEO Joins Suvendu Adhikari’s Core Administrative Team

Manoj Agarwal has been appointed as the Chief Secretary of West Bengal under the newly formed government led by Suvendu Adhikari, according to an official order issued on Monday.

Agarwal, a 1990-batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre, previously served as the state’s Chief Electoral Officer and supervised the Election Commission-mandated Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise ahead of the assembly elections.

The voter list revision process had drawn significant attention after nearly 91 lakh names were reportedly removed from the electoral rolls during the exercise.

His appointment comes within two days of Subrata Gupta being named as an adviser to the chief minister, signalling a major restructuring of the new administration’s top bureaucratic and advisory team.

Political observers view the inclusion of senior former election officials in key administrative positions as part of the BJP government’s effort to strengthen governance and streamline policy implementation in the state.

The appointment also marks one of the first major bureaucratic decisions taken by the new government following the BJP’s historic rise to power in West Bengal.

Officials said further administrative changes and departmental appointments are expected in the coming days as the new government settles into office.