Why Bihar's new additional chief secretary (Home) has a key role in the state's Lok Sabha elections

On March 18, two days after the Election Commission of India announced the schedule for next month’s Lok Sabha elections, it ordered crucial administrative changes in six states, including Bihar. For Bihar, a state that elects 40 members to the Lok Sabha, the ECI appointed Pratyaya Amrit as the new additional chief secretary (ACS), Home, assigning him a key role in the period leading up to the polls.

The task for Amrit—spearheading the state administration to hold free and fair elections—may sound simple, but the challenge lies in the multifaceted nature of the job. As ACS Home, Amrit will have to manage internal security, state border management, coordinate with various districts and states, closely monitor police administration, handle intelligence inputs, manage and deploy Central Armed Police Forces, and crack down on lawbreakers to ensure the integrity of the election process.

The challenges facing the 1991-batch IAS officer are numerous and diverse. Bihar is one of only three states where the ECI has decided to hold Lok Sabha polls in all seven phases. This makes it imperative for the administration to stay on high alert for an extended period. Additionally, Bihar’s dense population—the state is home to over nine per cent of India’s population, with only 2.9 per cent of the country’s land area—poses significant challenges for policing at the micro-level.

Moreover, Bihar being a dry state since April 2016 adds the responsibility of prohibition enforcement, further escalating the need for vigilance. Furthermore, 22 of Bihar’s 38 districts share borders with the neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and West Bengal, two of which (UP and West Bengal) are also undergoing elections in seven phases, mirroring Bihar’s electoral process. Overseeing the management of the over-700-km-long and porous Indo-Nepal border, with numerous open transit points, across seven Bihar districts, adds to the complexity of the task.

Amrit’s impressive record hints at the reason behind the ECI picking him for the job. Between 2006 and 2009, he served at the Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam (state bridge construction corporation) and was widely credited with turning the financially distressed government body into a profit-making one. He has also served in the state’s road construction department, and in 2011 was the recipient of the prestigious Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration. He is also credited with successfully driving the state’s rural electrification programme during his tenure as the state’s principal secretary, Energy, when Bihar achieved the electrification of every home in the state, including in 39,073 villages, three months ahead of its October 2018 target.

During the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020-21, Amrit, as head of the state’s disaster management department, oversaw the passage of lakhs of migrant workers returning home to Bihar. He has also served at the health department, where he is said to have contributed immensely to the implementation of preventive measures to control the spread of Covid in the state’s densely populated areas.

As ACS Home, Amrit has his task cut out—improve policing in the state and boosting public confidence in the state’s law enforcement agency. Beyond facilitating free and fair polls in the state, it is hoped, the new ACS would also help modernise the state police force and help improve the law and order situation in Bihar.

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