Election Commission orders removal of West Bengal DGP Virendra

Kolkata, Mar 10: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday ordered the removal of West Bengal Director General of Police Virendra following an adverse report from its special observers posted in the poll-bound state.

 

 

The ECI wrote to the state chief secretary, asking to replace Virendra. The order states that Virendra "should not be given any post which directly or indirectly relates to conduct of the election" and that a compliance report should be shared with the ECI by 10 am on Wednesday. It has appointed P Nirajnayanan IPS officer of the 1987 batch as DG and IGP in his place with immediate effect. EC said the decision has been taken after reviewing the poll preparedness in the state.

 

 

The ECI also ordered not to give any posting to Virendra which is directly or indirectly related to the conduct of elections. The BJP welcomed the decision. “The EC has taken a decision to ensure free, fair, and peaceful polls and stop the bloodshed,” said state BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya.

 

 

West Bengal Assembly elections will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting taking place on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2. West Bengal is likely to witness a triangular contest this time with TMC, Congress-Left alliance and the BJP in the fray.

 

 

Besides, several former TMC leaders, including Suvendu Adhikari, Rajib Banerjee, and more, had earlier joined the BJP in the run-up to Assembly elections. After winning 3 seats in the 2016 Assembly election in West Bengal, the BJP made deep inroads in the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections winning 18 seats and reducing TMC's tally to 22. Out of the total 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal, Congress won two seats, the Left drew a blank.