As the Suvendu Adhikari-led West Bengal government appointed Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal as the state Chief Secretary, the TMC was quick to react, saying it was “outrageous” and “brazen” and that it cleared any doubt that the state polls were “free and fair”.

During the polls, the TMC and Agarwal had several run-ins, with the party accusing him of “working for the BJP”.

Speaking to The Indian Express, TMC’s Deputy Leader in Rajya Sabha Sagarika Ghose said the move was a “brazen proof” of how the elections in the state were conducted.

“The so-called ‘neutral umpire’ is rewarded with the post of top bureaucrat of the BJP government in Bengal. Does anyone still seriously believe the elections in the state were free and fair? This is outrageous and brazen,” said Ghose.

TMC’s Leader in the Upper House, Derek O ‘Brien, said sarcastically that it was “purely a coincidence”.

Reacting to the appointment, TMC leader and former Rajya Sabha member Saket Gokhale said the BJP and ECI “are now being open about stealing the election”. “Are the courts blind or complicit? This is beyond shameless,” he said.

The TMC had multiple run-ins with election officials during the polls, with the matter also reaching the Supreme Court. The party had also lodged a formal complaint against him with the Election Commission. It had termed the CEO’s actions as “undue influence” and a misuse of power by a government official to sway voters.

The BJP, however, has defended Agarwal’s appointment.

“Unlike Mamata Banerjee, who had subverted the bureaucracy by blatantly flouting the rules governing the IAS by superseding dozens of officers, the BJP government of West Bengal has appointed the seniormost IAS officer working in the state, Shri Manoj Agarwal, as the Chief Secretary of West Bengal in keeping with its promise to restore the dignity of the laws of the land,” BJP’s Bengal unit said on X.