Bengal Governor-govt spar over appointment of election commissioner deepens

The tussle between Raj Bhavan and state secretariat in West Bengal over the appointment of the state election commissioner seems to be intensifying as the names recommended by the state government are yet to be cleared by Governor C.V. Ananda Bose's office.

Instead, the Governor House has sought a third name on his count.

Meanwhile, an administrative crisis in the state has evolved as the tenure of the earlier state election commissioner Sourav Das ended on Monday. Since the Governor will be away for the next couple of days, the uncertainty over the matter is expected to continue for some more time.

Initially, the secretariat had recommended the name of former West Bengal Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha as the new state election commissioner. However, sources said, the Governor was unwilling to give green signal on the basis of that sole recommendation and sought more recommendations from the state.

Thereafter, the state government had sent the recommendation of Ajit Ranjan Bardhan, the current additional chief secretary to the North Bengal Development Department.

Not satisfied with the second name as well, the Governor House has sought another recommendation.

The administrative crisis over the vacant chair of state election commissioner has deepened further against the backdrop of the elections for the three-tier panchayat system in the state scheduled this year.

However, bureaucratic circles are of the opinion that although the matter may be delayed for some time, ultimately the Governor House will have to choose any one name among those recommended.

There is not much provision for the Governor House to insist on its own choice for the post of state election commissioner unless the state government agrees on that, pointed out a bureaucrat on strict condition of anonymity. (IANS/NS)