Ahead of the panchayat elections, former West Bengal chief secretary Rajiva Sinha’s name has been cleared by the governor for the post of the next state Election Commissioner, a senior official said.

Sinha's appointment was confirmed after Governor CV Ananda Bose cleared Sinha’s name for the post, he said.

“The file sent by the state government regarding Sinha's nomination as the SEC was cleared by the Governor. So, Mr Sinha will be the next SEC,” the bureaucrat told PTI.

Sinha will succeed Sourav Kumar Das whose term ended on May 27.

The panchayat elections are due this year but the dates have not yet been announced.

The state government had initially proposed Sinha’s name, but Bose had sought to know why a retired bureaucrat should only be considered for the post, according to sources.

Later, the state secretariat had sent a second name, the sources said.

Sinha served as the state chief secretary from September 2019 to September 2020.

The state election commission is mandated to conduct elections to urban local bodies and panchayat bodies in the state.

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