As West Bengal's state assembly elections continue to be marred by controversy, a new row has erupted over the deployment of IPS officer Ajay Pal Sharma, known as Uttar Pradesh's 'encounter specialist', as a police observer for South 24 Parganas district.
Sharma's deployment ahead of the second round of voting on Wednesday, April 29, has led to a major row between the incumbent Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
While the BJP and the Election Commission of India (ECI) claim that Sharma has been deployed to ensure 'free and fair voting' in the state, the Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav have accused the BJP of trying to tilt the vote in their favour by 'deploying agents' to intimidate voters.
Ajay Pal Sharma is a 2011 batch IPS officer of UP's cadre, currently posted as Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP) in Prayagraj. He was born in October 1985 in Punjab's Ludhiana and is known for his tough policing style.
Before becoming an IPS officer, Sharma was a dentist. His role in several key security operations during his postings across Uttar Pradesh has earned him the reputation of 'encounter specialist'.
After Sharma's deployment, BJP's Amit Malviya referred to him as 'Singham' of UP Police and shared a video of him warning TMC candidate Jehangir Khan's supporters against intimidating voters.
However, TMC MP Mahua Moitra has warned Sharma to 'dial back the heroism a bit' and shared videos of Sharma dancing with dancers on his X account, clarifying that these were real and not AI-generated.
