The number of phases for the forthcoming West Bengal Assembly elections will be determined by the availability of central armed police forces, a senior official in the Chief Electoral Officer’s office said on Thursday, as the Election Commission weighs security requirements ahead of finalising the polling schedule.
The CEO’s office has recommended that the election be conducted in a single phase and has forwarded the proposal to the Election Commission in New Delhi. Deliberations are under way at the Commission’s headquarters.
“The number of phases for polling in West Bengal will be decided based on how many companies of central forces can be made available,” the official told PTI, adding that EC officials are assessing the requirement and availability of forces.
In the 2021 Assembly elections, around 1,100 companies of central forces were deployed across the state.
The Commission has directed the state administration to immediately identify sensitive polling stations and vulnerable areas.
“The EC has asked all districts to identify sensitive booths and areas. Only after receiving that list will the final decision on the number of phases be taken,” the official said.
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The scale of sensitive and highly sensitive booths will be central to the decision. While central forces are deployed at every polling station, additional personnel are required in vulnerable areas to prevent disturbances.
Sources indicated that although identification of sensitive booths usually begins six months before the expiry of the Assembly’s term, and sector officers are appointed around four months in advance, the process was delayed this year due to SIR. With that exercise nearing completion, full-scale poll preparations have commenced.
Preliminary discussions suggest the Commission is considering a three-phase election, one phase in north Bengal and two in south Bengal.
Seven districts are under scrutiny in view of past incidents of electoral violence: Cooch Behar and Uttar Dinajpur in north Bengal; North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Malda, Murshidabad and Birbhum in the south.
About a month ago, the Commission directed all districts to submit weekly law and order reports to New Delhi.
“After receiving the figures of sensitive booths and areas from the state, the commission will compare them with the law and order reports submitted by the district magistrates. Based on that assessment, the final number of sensitive booths will be determined,” a source said.
“Taking that as a benchmark, discussions with the Union Home Ministry regarding force deployment have already begun,” he added.
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