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EC asks Bengal govt to delink CEO office to ensure autonomy
Hindustan Times Rajasthan
|July 24, 2025
AT PRESENT, CEO'S OFFICE FUNCTIONS AS A SUBORDINATE BRANCH OF THE STATE HOME AND HILL AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has asked the West Bengal government to create a separate department with a dedicated budget.
The move is aimed at making the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) functional and ensure institutional independence.
The letter from the ECI secretariat to Bengal chief secretary Manoj Pant, dated July 17, came less than a year before assembly polls are due in the state.
“Create a separate election department, completely delinked from any other department of the state government. The election department should have a dedicated budget head. This will facilitate full financial and administrative autonomy to the CEO, as required for the effective and impartial conduct of elections,” said the letter.
This story is from the July 24, 2025 edition of Hindustan Times Rajasthan.
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