Bengal assembly elections will be held under tight security of central security forces, 2400 companies called from 20 states

Kolkata, 22 March. The Home Ministry has issued instructions to deploy a total of 2,400 companies of central security forces to conduct free and peaceful elections in West Bengal. A notification issued by the Home Ministry on March 19 said that a total of 2,400 companies, including Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), State Armed Police (SAP) and India Reserve Battalion (IRBn), will be deployed in the state.

It is noteworthy that the Home Ministry had earlier on February 20 ordered the deployment of 480 companies of central forces, which included 230 CRPF, 120 BSF, 37 CISF, 47 ITBP and 46 SSB companies. This large contingent of central forces was deployed to conduct route marches, instill confidence among the public, protect EVMs and strong rooms and ensure security at the counting centres.

1920 companies from different parts of the country will reach Bengal in 5 phases

At present, the Election Commission on March 17 decided to send additional 1,920 companies of forces. As a result, the total strength of the deployed forces now stands at 2,400 companies. These additional 1,920 companies from different parts of the country will reach the state in five phases.

In the first phase, 300 companies are scheduled to come on March 31. This contingent includes 125 companies of CRPF, 100 of BSF, 25 of CISF and 25-25 companies of ITBP and SSB. In the second phase, another 300 companies of security forces are going to arrive on April 7. In this phase, forces will be sent from Jammu-Kashmir and Tripura. In the third phase, on April 10, 300 more companies will come, which will be from Manipur apart from Jammu and Kashmir. In the fourth phase, 277 companies of security forces from Assam, Haryana and Uttarakhand are scheduled to arrive on April 13.

In the fifth phase, 743 companies will reach Bengal on 17th April. Of these, 443 companies of CAPF will come from Assam, while 300 companies will come from Kerala, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Chandigarh, Punjab and Rajasthan.

CRPF Sector IG Shalabh Mathur in West Bengal has been appointed ‘State Force Coordinator’ to oversee the deployment of these forces. Each company will have at least 72 employees. Of the nine sections of a company, eight will be deployed at polling stations while one section will act as Quick Response Team (QRT) to assist in supervisory functions.

Railways will make special arrangements for the movement of central forces

After consultation with the Railway Board, it has been decided to arrange special trains to ease the movement of these forces. On the other hand, the state government has been directed to make adequate arrangements for transportation, accommodation, food and logistics of the forces deployed here.

Even after voting, 700 companies will stay in the state for a few days.

Even after the polling ends on April 29, around 200 companies will remain in the state to guard the EVMs, strong rooms and counting centers while another 500 companies will remain to maintain law and order during the post-counting period. The remaining companies will return immediately after the completion of the voting process. Voting in the state is to be held in two phases on April 23 and 26.

Violence broke out after the results of the last assembly elections

It is noteworthy that violence had erupted after the results of the last assembly elections. According to the official notification, reports regarding the movement of security forces should be submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Election Commission (EC) by 10.00 am every day.