Nandini Chakravorty was appointed the first woman Chief Secretary of West Bengal on Wednesday, after Governor CV Ananda Bose cleared her elevation.

A 1994-batch IAS officer, Chakravorty, superseded at least eight senior officers to take charge, marking a significant administrative and political move by the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government.

The appointment comes just months ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, lending the decision added political weight. Chakravorty, 56, takes over from Manoj Pant, a 1991-batch IAS officer whose six-month extension as Chief Secretary ended on December 31.

Pant had retired on June 30 but was given an extension from July 1. He has now been appointed Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, with the rank of Chief Secretary.

Until her elevation, Chakravorty was serving as the state’s Home Secretary. Jagdish Prasad Meena, a 2004-batch IAS officer who was Secretary in the Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department, has been appointed the new Home Secretary.

A senior officer at Nabanna said Chakravorty’s appointment could strengthen the state government’s position in its dealings with the Election Commission during the upcoming polls.

Chakravorty has had a complex administrative journey in West Bengal. During the Left Front regime, she headed the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) at the height of the Singur and Nandigram land acquisition movements in 2007–08—agitations that were led by Mamata Banerjee and eventually altered the state’s political landscape.

After the Trinamool Congress came to power in 2011, Chakravorty continued as WBIDC chief and was also given additional charge of the Information and Culture Department. However, she later fell out of favour with the Chief Minister and was sidelined, being appointed editor of the state gazetteer.

She went on to head multiple departments and was later appointed Secretary to the Governor. Her tenure there saw friction with Governor CV Ananda Bose, following which she was removed. Ironically, that tussle helped Chakravorty return to the state government’s inner circle, and she was subsequently given charge of the Industry Department. In 2024, she was appointed Home Secretary, a key post that preceded her elevation as Chief Secretary.

Alongside Chakravorty’s appointment, several bureaucratic reshuffles were announced. Additional Chief Secretary Atri Bhattacharya (1989 batch) has been given additional charge as Director General of the Netaji Subhas Administrative Training Institute, besides his existing responsibility of the Sundarban Affairs Department.

Additional Chief Secretary Barun Kumar Roy, who heads the Non-Conventional and Renewable Energy Sources Department, has been given additional charge of the Tourism Department. Principal Secretary Surendra Gupta has been assigned additional charge as Divisional Commissioner of the Presidency Division.

Additional Chief Secretary Dushyant Nariala of the North Bengal Development Department has been given the additional responsibility of Principal Secretary, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, along with the Correctional Administration Department.