EC appoints Neelam Meena as new Bengal CEO

Kolkata: The Election Commission on Monday appointed senior IAS officer Neelam Meena as the new chief electoral officer (CEO) of West Bengal, succeeding Manoj Agarwal, who was recently elevated to the post of chief secretary.Meena is the second woman IAS officer, after Leena Chakraborty, to be appointed as Bengal CEO.An EC notification said: "In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 13A of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (43 of 1950), the Election Commission of India, in consultation with the Govt of West Bengal, hereby designates Neelam Meena, IAS (WB:1998), as the Chief Electoral Officer for the State of West Bengal with effect from the date she takes over charge and until further orders, in place of Manoj Kumar Agarwal, IAS."A 1998-batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre, Meena has held several important administrative positions. She has been serving as principal secretary in the consumer affairs department since Feb 2024.Earlier, the state govt had sent a panel of three names to the EC for the CEO's appointment. Besides Meena, the list included senior IAS officers Tanmay Chakraborty and Moumita Godara Basu. A panel comprising the chief election commissioner and two election commissioners selected Meena, EC sources said.Meena's predecessor, Agarwal, a 1990-batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre, assumed charge as the state CEO in March 2025. Before that, he served as the additional chief secretary in the fire and emergency services department.Following the assembly elections, CM Suvendu Adhikari appointed Agarwal as the state's new chief secretary, replacing Dushyant Nariwala.