A total of 142 Assembly constituencies in West Bengal, spanning six districts and Kolkata, are set for polling on April 29 with robust security measures in place. The election will see the deployment of 2,348 companies of central forces, including CAPF, IRB, and armed police units from various states. North 24 Parganas will have the highest central force presence with 507 companies, followed by South 24 Parganas with 409.
Hooghly district will witness the third-highest deployment at 344 companies, with Nadia following at 285. East Burdwan district and Kolkata will each have 273 companies of central forces on duty during the polling day. Howrah district, near Kolkata, will have the lowest deployment of central forces with 257 companies. These central forces will supplement personnel from Kolkata Police and West Bengal Police.
The allocation of central forces is based on the number of critical or hyper-sensitive booths in the districts, considering past election violence and factors like proximity to international borders with Bangladesh, as per sources from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal. The second phase of polling will be closely monitored by 142 general observers (one per Assembly constituency) and 95 police observers.
During the first phase, 152 constituencies were overseen by 84 police observers, with the Election Commission of India appointing 11 additional police observers from other states. The ECI’s primary focus is to ensure a fair, violence-free election. The first phase was largely peaceful, with no major incidents reported, and no re-polling was deemed necessary. The Commission remains vigilant for the second phase, further enhancing security measures.
