Subrata Gupta, a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, was appointed as an advisor to West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on May 9, 2026. Gupta, a 1990-batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre, holds a PhD from IIT Kharagpur and has previously served in various significant roles, including as District Magistrate in Jalpaiguri and Burdwan, and Managing Director of the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC). His recent role as Special Roll Observer for the Election Commission of India (ECI) during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has drawn attention, especially as it was aimed at ensuring a clean voter list ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. While Gupta is credited with overseeing a largely peaceful election, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has accused him of bias towards the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleging that he selectively deleted minority voters from the rolls. His appointment as advisor comes shortly after he was relieved of his election duties, and it is expected that his administrative experience will aid the new BJP-led administration in policy coordination and governance.