The Election Commission has picked Manoj Kumar Agarwal as the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal after rejecting the state’s first shortlist of three candidates. Actually Election Commission had sought a revised panel of three IAS officers who would be retiring shortly after May 2026, when the state election is proposed. According to some bureaucrats, the ECI’s demand meant it wanted a CEO who would retire soon after overseeing the 2026 Assembly polls, and could therefore not be put under any kind of pressure by Bengal’s ruling dispensation during the elections. The Bengal Government had, in the revised list, sent the names of Agarwal - a 1990 batch IAS officer, Krishna Gupta (1991 batch) and Barun Kumar Roy (1992 batch). Agarwal was found fit for the position as he would retire in July 2026. Gupta is to retire in June 2026 and Roy in January 2027. The CEO’s post fell vacant last December following the retirement of Ariz Aftab. Agarwal’s selection comes at a time when Bengal politics has started to simmer over allegations of the presence of bogus voters.