EC Appoints 25 Bengal IAS, IPS Officers as Central Observers for Elections

• The Election Commission (EC) appointed 25 senior IAS and IPS officers from West Bengal as central observers.
• Officers include Home Secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena and CID Inspector General Akhilesh Kumar Chaturvedi.
• They will oversee Assembly elections and by-elections in West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry.
• A training session is scheduled for February 5-6 in New Delhi to prepare them for ensuring free and fair elections.
• The EC's move follows allegations regarding voter list omissions and state government's unresponsiveness to officer release requests.

Why It Matters: EC appoints 25 Bengal officers as central observers for upcoming elections after state government's non-response.