TMC flags ‘bias’ in Bhowanipore RO appointment, urges EC to remove Surajit Roy
Telegraph | 26 March 2026
The Trinamool Congress tore into the Election Commission of India on Wednesday over the appointment of Surajit Roy as the returning officer (RO) for the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency, where chief minister Mamata Banerjee is set to defend her seat against challenger-in-chief Suvendu Adhikari.
In a message to Nirvachan Sadan on behalf of the party, Trinamool Rajya Sabha member Derek O’Brien said that Roy, a 2011-batch WBCS officer who previously served as the block development officer of Nandigram II, was "closely associated" with Adhikari.
Adhikari, the leader of the Opposition, is the BJP MLA of Nandigram.
"It is widely known that he is closely associated with Suvendu Adhikari of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Notably, Suvendu Adhikari is contesting from the Bhawanipur Assembly Constituency, thereby giving rise to a reasonable likelihood of bias and lack of neutrality in the discharge of Surajit Roy's functions as Returning Officer," the letter stated.
"Further, it appears that Surajit Roy's present designation as Additional Director of Land Records does not align with his seniority and raises questions regarding the circumstances and timing of such posting. Conventionally, this position has been occupied by officers at the Joint Secretary level, making the present appointment prima facie unusual," it said.
"The Election Commission has consistently issued directions that officers with political proximity, perceived bias, or doubtful neutrality ought not to be deployed in election-related functions. The appointment of Surajit Roy, in the present facts, is contrary to these principles," it added, urging that Roy's appointment be set aside, and he be removed from all poll-related work to preserve the integrity of the electoral process.
Trinamool asked for an "independent, neutral and senior officer with no perceived political affiliation" as the Bhabanipur RO.
On Tuesday, Mamata lashed out at the EC for appointing the former Nandigram BDO as the Bhabanipur RO.
Her party's letter came within 48 hours of the EC replacing 73 ROs across Bengal, a mass reshuffle that Mamata said was designed to confer "undue advantage" on the BJP.
The letter argued that the RO's role was central to ensuring free, fair and transparent elections.
"Any reasonable apprehension of bias, conflict of interest, or lack of independence in such an office undermines public confidence in the electoral process and runs contrary to the mandate of Article 324 of the Constitution of India," it read.
The EC remained unmoved, with sources dismissing the "partisan" narrative.
The sources said that the EC believed a government official’s past did not dictate their present utility.
“The official does not belong to any political party or individual, he is a government official, and he will do whatever work the commission gives him," claimed a source. "The commission does not view officials as loyal to this person or that."
A bemused political watcher, however, pointed out that this stance was in direct contradiction to the logic that the EC offered while transferring over 100 officers, including the then chief secretary Nandini Chakravorty, in an unprecedented measure for Bengal.