The new BJP government in West Bengal has begun restructuring the Chief Minister’s Office by appointing retired IAS officer Subrata Gupta as adviser to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. The appointment comes shortly after the BJP formed its first-ever government in the state following its Assembly election victory.
According to an official notification issued on Saturday, Gupta has been brought into the administration to assist the Chief Minister in governance and policy coordination matters as the new government reshapes the functioning of the CMO. Gupta belongs to the 1990 batch of the Indian Administrative Service and had recently served as Special Roll Observer for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise conducted ahead of the Assembly elections under the supervision of the Election Commission of India.
Officials said Gupta’s long administrative experience is expected to play a significant role in helping the new government streamline governance, policy implementation, and bureaucratic coordination. His appointment is being viewed as part of the BJP government’s effort to build an experienced administrative support structure around the Chief Minister’s Office during the transition of power in the state.
In another important administrative change, IAS officer Shantanu Bala has been appointed as private secretary to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Bala, a 2017-batch IAS officer, was previously serving as Additional District Magistrate of South 24 Parganas before being shifted to the CMO as part of the restructuring process.
Officials indicated that both appointments are part of a broader overhaul taking place within the state administration following the political transition in West Bengal. The new BJP government is expected to make further bureaucratic and administrative changes in the coming days as it establishes its governance framework after ending the 15-year rule of the All India Trinamool Congress.
