- By Priyanka Koul
- Sun, 10 May 2026 03:53 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Subrata Gupta was on Saturday appointed as an adviser to newly sworn-in West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, according to an official order issued by the state government.
The appointment has raised eyebrows, coming soon after Adhikari took oath as chief minister. Gupta had earlier served as the ‘Special Roll Observer’ for the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in West Bengal after being appointed by the Election Commission of India in December 2025.
The SIR exercise became a major point of political controversy during the Bengal elections, drawing criticism and allegations of distorting the electoral field after nearly 91 lakh names were removed from the electoral rolls. At least 27 lakh voters were reportedly left in limbo, awaiting a decision on their voting rights and unable to exercise their franchise during the election.
The new adviser to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari is a 1990-batch IAS officer who held several key administrative positions during his career.
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He served as managing director of the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) during the Singur agitation linked to the Tata Motors project. Gupta was closely involved in handling the Singur project, which later emerged as one of the biggest political flashpoints for the then Left Front government. He joined WBIDC as deputy managing director and later became managing director after Tata Motors exited the state.
In 2020, Gupta, then serving as secretary of urban development, had reportedly objected to the appointment of a Kolkata Municipal Commissioner, a move that is said to have irked the Mamata Banerjee government.