Electoral Politics Triumphs — Morality Takes the Hit
TVK Chief Vijay (Image TVK on X)
The controversies surrounding Subrata Gupta’s appointment in West Bengal and the Governor’s handling of Tamil Nadu’s government formation reflect a wider erosion of political ethics.
By MANISH ANAND
New Delhi, May 10, 2026 — West Bengal is familiar with Subrata Gupta. The internet is now more familiar. His appointment as an advisor to West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has come out as a bolt from the blue.
Gupta was an observer for the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in West Bengal. He is a retired IAS officer. West Bengal Governor RN Ravi issued a notification for the appointment within hours of the swearing in of Adhikari as the CM of the state.
At a time when the West Bengal verdict is dissected in the backdrop of deletion of over nine million voters from the electoral roll, which includes almost 2.7 million in disputes, Gupta’s role as a key advisor to the new West Bengal CM rightly raises eyebrows. The former bureaucrat with an active role with the Election Commission, though briefly, while making a seemingly consequential impact on West Bengal Assembly elections 2026, is becoming a part of the new ruling dispensation, which won the polls.
The decision may suggest that morality in politics may have become relics of a bygone era. Indeed, there’s no bar on retired bureaucrats in taking new roles with governments and institutions which are apolitical. But Gupta’s case is of a brazen disregard even to the people’s strength of a short memory.
In Chennai, a political drama unfolded for no reasons for three days. In those three days, Tamil actor Vijay feted Governor Rajendra Arlekar with precious shawls. The TVK leader paid respects to the Governor with full humility.
Arlekar sought to show that he knew mathematics better than legal luminaries. Vijay’s TVK had been the sole claimant for the government formation in Chennai. The DMK, the second largest party in Tamil Nadu, officially announced the decision to sit in the Opposition. A third-ranked party, the AIADMK, tried top copy the acting skills of Vijay — stoking rumours of an impossible political theatre.
In the end, Vijay brought curtains on the raging drama by submitting support of 121 MLAs. At last, Arlekar relented to appoint the actor as the CM of Tamil Nadu.
But the Governor wasn’t seemingly large hearted. He gave Vijay three days to prove a majority in the Assembly for the TVK. That too when no MLA has yet taken oath, which is an exercise consuming at least two days.
From Kolkata to Chennai, signals are taking shapes of writings on the wall — morality in politics is in a crisis.
(This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author’s own.)
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