The Election Commission (EC) has decided to retain a significant presence of central forces in West Bengal even after the polling process concludes, signalling heightened caution around post-election law and order.
Central forces to stay beyond polling
On Friday, the EC said that 500 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) will remain deployed in the state after results are declared, "till further orders of the Election Commission", reported The Times of India.
Each CAPF company includes around 80-100 personnel. While 2,400 companies have been assigned for election duty in Bengal, about 1,700 will be withdrawn after polling ends on April 29.
Officials added that an additional 200 companies will stay on temporarily "till counting is completed", primarily to secure EVM strong rooms and counting centres.
Focus on violence-free elections
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has instructed state authorities to ensure that voting takes place without disruption. He asked officials to conduct elections free from "violence, intimidation, inducement, chaapa (voter impersonation), booth jamming and source jamming".
An NHRC probe into the aftermath of the 2021 Assembly elections recorded 1,970 complaints of violence between May 2 and June 20 that year, TOI reported. These included 29 cases of murder, 12 of sexual assault, 391 of grievous hurt, 940 incidents of arson or vandalism, and 562 cases of criminal intimidation.
Out of these, 1,168 complaints were converted into FIRs, and 1,345 accused were arrested out of a total 9,304. NHRC’s field inquiries also noted that FIRs were not registered in 60% of the locations it examined.
The NHRC observed that "the spatio-temporal expanse of violent incidents... with little efforts of state to prevent or control or rectify the same is actually a larger picture of organised violence by supporters of the ruling party in retribution against persons who dared to support the other major party which lost the recent (2021) assembly elections".
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Polling schedule
The EC has also taken note of administrative decisions ahead of the polls. It flagged the deployment of 2,185 state police personnel for providing security to political figures and supporters, directing a review to ensure equitable distribution.
The West Bengal Assembly elections will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with counting scheduled for May 4. Voters will elect all 294 members, while the current Assembly's term ends on May 7.
