Manoj Agarwal, who served as the Chief Election Officer during the recent assembly elections in West Bengal, has been appointed Chief Secretary by the newly formed BJP government led by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. This decision has sparked significant backlash from the opposition Trinamool Congress, which accuses the BJP of undermining electoral integrity. Trinamool leader Saket Gokhale labeled the appointment 'beyond shameless,' while party MP Derek O'Brien sarcastically questioned the timing of the decision. The BJP, however, defended the appointments, stating they were made based on merit and in line with their commitment to uphold the rule of law. Agarwal, a 1990-batch IAS officer, is set to succeed Dushyant Nariala and is expected to have a brief tenure, retiring in June. The opposition had previously raised concerns about Agarwal and another official, Subrata Gupta, during the elections, suggesting that their roles compromised the fairness of the electoral process.