ECI seeks weekly district-wise law and order reports from Bengal ahead of Assembly polls

Kolkata, Jan 5 (IANS) Ahead of the crucial Assembly elections in West Bengal later this year, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday directed the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, to submit weekly and district-wise reports on the law and order situation across the state.

As per the Commission’s directive, the district magistrates, who also function as district electoral officers (DEOs), will submit weekly reports on the law and order situation in their respective districts to the CEO’s office. The CEO’s office will compile these reports and forward them to the ECI headquarters in New Delhi every week.

“The review of these weekly reports by the Commission will be crucial in determining the extent of deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel for the Assembly elections,” an insider in the CEO’s office said.

The development comes in the backdrop of a meeting held at the ECI headquarters in New Delhi, which was attended by West Bengal CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal. The meeting was chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh and was also attended by the CEOs of the four poll-bound states — Assam, Tamil Nadu and Kerala — as well as the Union Territory of Puducherry.

“The Commission has already started keeping a special watch on the law and order situation in the four poll-bound states and one Union Territory, with particular focus on West Bengal. The Commission has also appointed 15 nodal agencies, both central and state, to assist in the review process,” the CEO’s office insider said.

The upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal are likely to witness a significantly higher deployment of CAPF personnel compared to the previous Assembly polls in 2016 and 2021. This is primarily due to the suggestion for fewer voting phases than in the last two elections.

An insider from the CEO’s office said the proposal would be to complete the election in a single phase and, if that is not feasible, in a maximum of two phases. “Naturally, this would require a higher deployment of CAPF companies compared to the previous two Assembly elections. All these issues are scheduled to be discussed at a crucial meeting at the ECI office in New Delhi today,” the source said.

In 2021, the West Bengal Assembly elections were conducted in eight phases, with the first phase held on March 27 and the final phase on April 29.

In 2016, the elections were conducted in six phases, with the first phase spread over two days, effectively making it a seven-phase election.

src/pgh