Who Is IPS Ajay Pal Sharma, UP’s ‘Encounter Specialist’ Deployed as Poll Observer in Bengal’s South 24 Parganas?

The Election Commission’s decision to deploy Uttar Pradesh IPS officer Ajay Pal Sharma as police observer for South 24 Parganas district has triggered a fresh controversy in West Bengal, already deep into a contentious state assembly election cycle. Sharma’s appointment ahead of the second round of polling on Wednesday, April 29, has drawn sharp reactions from the Trinamool Congress, the BJP, and even the Samajwadi Party.

The BJP and the Election Commission of India maintain that Sharma has been deployed to ensure free and fair voting. The Trinamool Congress and SP leader Akhilesh Yadav, however, have accused the BJP of deploying him to intimidate voters and tilt the election in the party’s favour.

Who Is Ajay Pal Sharma?

Sharma is a 2011-batch IPS officer from the Uttar Pradesh cadre, currently posted as Additional Commissioner of Police in Prayagraj. Born in October 1985 in Ludhiana, Punjab, he trained as a dentist before joining the IPS. His postings across Uttar Pradesh and his role in several key security operations earned him a reputation as an “encounter specialist.”

After his deployment to Bengal made news, BJP’s IT cell head Amit Malviya referred to him as the ‘Singham’ of UP Police and shared a video of Sharma warning supporters of TMC candidate Jehangir Khan against voter intimidation. “He wasted no time in setting the tone, firmly reading the riot act to the family members of Abhishek Banerjee’s close aide, Jehangir Khan,” Malviya wrote on X.

TMC MP Mahua Moitra responded by sharing Sharma’s video on X, warning him to “dial back the heroism a bit.” She also posted other videos of Sharma alongside dancers, adding a note that the clips were real and not AI-generated. In a follow-up post tagging Sharma directly, Moitra wrote: “hope your policing skills are better than your dancing skills.”

The BJP’s West Bengal unit backed Sharma, saying he had simply “read the riot act to Bhaipo’s henchman Jehangir Khan’s family members,” and added: “Nobody can stop this election from being the most free and fair election in 50 years and anyone who dares to act oversmart will be taught a lesson.”