Manoj Agarwal has been appointed West Bengal chief secretary under the new BJP government (Express Photo/File) 4 min read May 11, 2026 08:24 PM IST First published on: May 11, 2026 at 08:19 PM IST The BJP government in West Bengal on Monday appointed the state’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal as the next Chief Secretary. Agarwal, who is set to retire in July, had faced criticism from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The move comes days after the government appointed the Election Commission’s special observer for West Bengal, Subrata Gupta, as an advisor to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. “The Governor is pleased to appoint Shri Manoj Kumar Agarwal, IAS (WB:1990), Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal and ex-officio Additional Chief Secretary, Home and Hill Affairs (Election) Department, Govt. of West Bengal as Chief Secretary to the Government of West Bengal,” read an order dated May 11.…