The appointment of Manoj Agarwal as the Chief Secretary under the new BJP government in West Bengal has already triggered a political debate. In Opposition circles, especially within the Trinamool Congress, many are asking whether this is a "return gift" for the role he played during the election process. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has also hinted at a similar line of argument.
The Opposition's allegation stems from the fact that Manoj Agarwal, a 1990-batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre, served as the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Bengal during one of the most politically charged phases in recent memory. He led the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bengal beginning in November 2025 and continued as the Bengal CEO through the 2026 Assembly election process.
Now, immediately after the BJP formed the government in the state, Agarwal was appointed Chief Secretary under Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Naturally, political questions are being raised.
Manoj Agarwal is due to retire on July 31, but there is strong speculation that he may receive at least a six-month extension, subject to the state government's recommendation and approval from the Centre. Bengal has a long history of extending the tenure of chief secretaries. Officers like Samar Ghosh, Harishankar Dwivedi, B.P. Gopalakrishna, and Manoj Pant had all continued in office even after crossing the age of 60. In fact, one of the officers appointed during the Left Front era later became Mamata Banerjee's first Chief Secretary in 2011.
A mechanical engineering graduate by training, Manoj Agarwal has had a long administrative career. He began as the Additional District Magistrate of Burdwan district and later handled several important departments, including Personnel and Administrative Reforms, Food and Supplies, and Fire and Emergency Services. In June 2024, he became Additional Chief Secretary of the Forest Department before being appointed Chief Electoral Officer ten months later.
The Election Commission praised him for conducting the Assembly elections in a largely peaceful manner. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar personally appreciated his administrative handling of the polls.
Interestingly, Agarwal's elevation came just before the Falta by-election, which is scheduled for May 21. Political observers say the atmosphere around the bypoll is already heavily loaded. Wall writings and local political messaging clearly indicate the intensity of the contest. The Trinamool candidate there remains controversial, and questions are already being raised about how freely and fairly the election atmosphere can function under the current circumstances.
At the same time, Agarwal continues to attract criticism because of the exclusion of nearly 91 lakh names during the SIR exercise. He had consistently advocated for a single-phase election in Bengal, something that also became politically contentious. While the Election Commission maintained that the process was fair and peaceful, the opposition strongly disagreed.
What made the controversy sharper was what happened on May 9, the day Suvendu Adhikari took the oath as Chief Minister. After the grand oath-taking ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the first Cabinet meeting was held. Senior bureaucrats were present there, and Manoj Agarwal was also seen attending the meeting even though, technically, he had not yet formally taken charge as Chief Secretary and was still functioning as CEO while a by-election was pending.
This became a political issue immediately. Trinamool leader and Supreme Court lawyer Kalyan Banerjee questioned why Agarwal was present at the Cabinet meeting before formally assuming office as Chief Secretary while an election process was still underway.
The BJP government, however, defended the move. Their argument was straightforward: Agarwal is a senior West Bengal cadre officer, and the government has confidence in his administrative capabilities. According to them, the appointment was made purely from a governance perspective.
At the moment, however, the political environment in Bengal has changed dramatically. The BJP is riding a strong political wave, while the Trinamool Congress appears defensive. Several leaders are under investigation, and political instability within the party has weakened its ability to build large-scale protests around issues like Agarwal's appointment.
As a result, although there is visible dissent from the opposition, Manoj Agarwal's appointment has not yet turned into a mass political controversy.
There is no doubt that Agarwal has always been seen as an aggressive and result-oriented officer. Mamata Banerjee, however, never completely trusted him politically. During the Manmohan Singh government at the centre, when Priyaranjan Dasmunsi was Information and Broadcasting Minister, Agarwal had worked closely with him as a private secretary. Because of that background, he was often viewed in Bengal political circles as someone connected to Priyaranjan Dasmunsi's camp.
Over the years, several controversies also surrounded him. Both the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate had conducted investigations involving him at different times. For these reasons, Mamata Banerjee generally kept him at a distance politically, even though she later brought him back from Delhi and gave him important administrative responsibilities in departments like food processing, forests, and others. Still, she never fully included him within her closest administrative circle.
Ironically, it was during the Trinamool government itself that his name was sent to the panel from which the Election Commission selected him as Bengal's CEO. Mamata Banerjee later attacked him aggressively during the election campaign, repeatedly alleging that her party had documents and information regarding him that could be revealed if necessary. But ultimately, those threats never materialised into any formal public disclosure.
The relationship between Mamata Banerjee and Manoj Agarwal deteriorated significantly during the election period. There were public confrontations, including sharp exchanges involving Gyanesh Kumar and senior Trinamool Congress leaders.
Questions around Agarwal's past continue to remain politically sensitive. In 2013, the CBI filed a chargesheet alleging that Agarwal and his wife, Roma, had accumulated assets worth approximately Rs 1.46 crore disproportionate to their known income between 1990 and 2008. The allegations included six plots of land across Delhi-NCR and West Bengal, along with nearly 30 bank accounts.
At present, the opposition is relatively quiet because this is still the BJP government's political "honeymoon period". But many believe these issues are being preserved for future political battles.
There is also speculation that Agarwal may not continue as chief secretary for a very long period. Some observers believe he could serve for four to six months before a more permanent choice is made by Suvendu Adhikari. Others argue that he has been brought in mainly because he is someone the new government feels comfortable working with during this transitional phase.
The legal controversies are also not fully over. Although Agarwal was acquitted by a Delhi court in 2018, the CBI challenged that acquittal in 2020, and the matter is still pending before the Delhi High Court. Agarwal has consistently defended himself, describing the entire episode as an "agnipariksha", a trial by fire, and insisting that all his assets were properly declared and assessed.
There were also Enforcement Directorate-linked litigations involving attached properties under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act connected to a corporate insolvency resolution process. During the 2026 election itself, the Trinamool government repeatedly raised questions about these pending cases and accused the Election Commission of appointing a compromised officer. Some Trinamool leaders even suggested that the BJP was using these vulnerabilities to influence him politically, though "blackmail" was considered too strong a word even within opposition circles.
Another layer of controversy relates to his earlier tenure as food secretary. In 2018, he was transferred out of that role after ordering an FIR into irregularities in the public distribution system. The minister in charge at the time, Jyotipriya Mallick, was later arrested by the ED in 2023 in connection with the ration distribution scam. Questions continue to be raised about what exactly Agarwal knew during that period and what role he played administratively.
For now, however, the BJP government clearly believes Manoj Agarwal is necessary for stabilising governance in Bengal during its first phase in office. The announcement of his appointment was made after the very first Cabinet meeting of the Suvendu Adhikari government. He effectively replaced the Election Commission-appointed administrative arrangement that had earlier brought in Dushyant Nariala after removing Nandini Chakraborty from the Chief Secretary's position during the election period.
Interestingly, Agarwal's appointment as Chief Secretary came within 48 hours of another major administrative move, the appointment of Subrata Gupta as Adviser to the Chief Minister. Together, these appointments indicate the shape of the BJP's emerging bureaucratic structure in Bengal.
Speculation had already started earlier in the week when Manoj Agarwal was seen sitting beside Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari during the Cabinet meeting, with Dushyant Nariala seated on the other side. Many in the political establishment immediately sensed that a formal announcement was coming.
The Trinamool Congress reacted sharply. The party had clashed repeatedly with Agarwal during the election campaign, including through public exchanges on X between him and former Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya. Trinamool MP Sagarika Ghose wrote on social media that the "so-called neutral umpire" had now been rewarded with the post of Bengal's top bureaucrat under the BJP dispensation. She questioned whether anyone could still seriously believe that the 2026 Bengal election had been completely free and fair.
The BJP dismissed these allegations outright. Party leaders argued that Agarwal was simply the senior-most and most experienced officer available and that, unlike previous governments, they were not appointing officers based on personal loyalty or political favouritism.
Still, there is no doubt that Manoj Agarwal's appointment has already become one of the most intriguing political and administrative developments in Bengal after Suvendu Adhikari became Chief Minister.
(Jayanta Ghosal is Contributing Editor, NDTV)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
