Retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Subrata Gupta, who earned widespread praise for his work as the Election Commission of India (ECI)-appointed special poll observer during the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections, was on Saturday, 10 May 2025 appointed as advisor to the state's new Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. A formal notification to this effect was issued by the West Bengal state government shortly after Adhikari was sworn in as the ninth Chief Minister of the state.

Who Is Subrata Gupta

Subrata Gupta is a 1990 batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre and an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur. Regarded as a technocrat, he was credited during his tenure as special poll observer with successfully deploying technology and artificial intelligence (AI) to make the polling process more transparent and peaceful. The ECI formally relieved Gupta of his poll duties on 7 May, along with the special police observer.

Role in West Bengal Polls

During the pre-election Special Intensive Revision (SIR) stage, Gupta's extensive use of technology and AI applications reportedly helped the ECI identify illegal voters and remove fake entries from the electoral rolls. The same technological framework was applied during polling phases to eliminate irregularities and misappropriations, according to officials. His approach drew commendation from multiple quarters for bringing accountability to the process.

Trinamool Congress Criticism

However, Gupta's role was not without controversy. Former Chief Minister and All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee accused him of being the principal architect in implementing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s agenda to selectively delete names of minority voters from the electoral rolls. Throughout both the SIR stage and the election phase, Gupta faced sustained criticism from the TMC and Banerjee personally, though he continued his duties without publicly responding to those charges.

Other Key Appointments

On the same day, the West Bengal government also announced the appointment of Subrata Bala, a 2017 batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre, as Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Bala had previously served as the Additional District Magistrate of South 24 Parganas district. The back-to-back appointments signal the new administration's intent to quickly constitute its core advisory and administrative structure.

What Comes Next

With the new government now formally in place, attention will turn to how the Adhikari administration shapes its policy priorities and whether Gupta's technology-driven approach to governance will extend beyond electoral oversight into broader administrative reform in West Bengal.