‘Encounter specialist’ as Bengal poll guardian: When an observer becomes a ‘viral hero’

In a News18 India segment posted on X today, the thumbnail read: “Singham Ki Entry: Kiski Hogi Victory” (Singham's entry: Whose victory will it be?). On one side sat a cutout of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee; on the other, a stylised, cinematic-style photo of IPS officer Ajay Pal Sharma racking the slide of a gun and pointing it toward the sky.

The image belonged more on a movie poster than in coverage on a routine administrative announcement. Yet, this has become the dominant frame on mainstream TV media for the Election Commission’s appointment of ‘encounter specialist’ Ajay Pal Sharma as a police observer for the South 24 Parganas district during the ongoing 2026 West Bengal assembly elections. A 2011-batch IPS officer, Sharma is currently the Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.

The media has transformed the role of a supposedly neutral police observer – designed to be the ‘eyes and ears’ of the Election Commission – into a major political antagonist taking on the TMC leadership.

The viral video

What kicked off this political firestorm is a viral video of Sharma warning the family members of Jahangir Khan, the TMC candidate for the Falta assembly constituency. In the footage, Sharma is heard saying: “Convey this message to him clearly and properly. We have been receiving repeated reports that his associates are engaging in intimidation. If this continues, we will deal with him very strictly. Do not come crying or regretting it later.”

The BJP’s unit in West Bengal was quick to amplify the clip on X (formerly Twitter) and captioned it with: 

“Ajay Pal Sharma, the encounter specialist and Singham of UP police, is deployed as police observer of South 24 Parganas. He just read the riot act to Bhaipo’s (referring to TMC leader and Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee) henchman Jahangir Khan’s family members. 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.”

The TMC, meanwhile, has slammed the appointment, calling Sharma ‘Yogi's trigger-happy officer’, alleging he has been parachuted to influence the elections. 

TV media follows the BJP’s script

Channels branded Sharma as “Yogi ka Singham” with anchors abandoning their roles as journalists to become cheerleaders for a brand of “thok do” (shoot them) policing that bypasses due process in favour of viral optics. 

Sucherita Kukreti of NDTV India remarked: “So, on one hand, Yogi has cornered the Mamata government in Bengal over the issue of law and order. On the other hand, Ajay Pal Sharma – famously known as ‘Yogi ka Singham’ – has arrived in Bengal.” 

In this clip posted by NDTV India on X, Kukreti said, “He is issuing a stern warning to those attempting to intimidate voters.” She noted that a video of him had gone viral on social media, urging viewers to look at how ‘Singham’ confronted local goons and took decisive action.

Shivani Pandey of News18 India also talked up the entry of ‘UP ka encounter specialist’ in West Bengal following “a raid on the premises of TMC candidate Jahangir Khan”. She analyses that Sharma was appointed as an observer to Abhishek Banerjee’s stronghold because “this area has been known for poll violence and booth capturing”. 

According to her, his appointment is a “direct message” from the Election Commission that they “will deal strictly with any form of rigging or violence this time around”. 

She also observed: “As a Police observer, Ajay Pal Sharma may have greater authority... He will also have the power to control the police force... Ajay Pal Sharma is a figure within the UP Police known for instilling fear in criminals. During his various postings across different districts of UP, he put numerous high-profile criminals behind bars.”

The channel also played up an image of ‘encounter specialist’ by showcasing the stylised photo of Sharma holding a gun. 

It’s important to note that an observer typically monitors and oversees deployment for polling exercise rather than exercise direct operational command.

Furthermore, this lionisation conveniently ignores Sharma's own checkered history. According to reports from 2020, Sharma was previously the subject of investigations into an alleged cash-for-postings scam and faced complaints regarding staged encounters.

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