Kolkata, April 7 (IANS). This time very strict security arrangements have been made for the assembly elections to be held in West Bengal. The largest ever deployment of paramilitary forces has been made in the state, so that the election process can be conducted in a peaceful and fair manner.
About 2,400 paramilitary companies have been deployed in the state. Their total number is said to be around 2,40,000. The special thing is that this deployment is more than double that of the last election, which shows the seriousness of the administration regarding security this time.
Not only this, this time a record number of women security personnel have also been deployed. According to the information, about 20,000 women paramilitary personnel, i.e. about 200 companies, have been deployed for election duty.
Sources say that various agencies, including the Election Commission, had informed the Home Ministry about the need for more women security personnel. Only after this the decision was taken to deploy women forces on such a large scale.
If we talk about the election schedule, this time voting will be conducted in only two phases for a total of 294 seats in West Bengal. The first phase will be held on April 23 for 152 seats while the second phase will be held on April 29 for the remaining 142 seats. Counting of votes and results will be declared on May 4.
It is also worth noting that this time the elections are being held in fewer phases as compared to 2021, which will provide convenience to both the voters and the administration. The code of conduct has also been implemented in the entire state and the Election Commission is monitoring it at every level.
Let us tell you that on April 6, the Supreme Court directed the NIA to investigate the incident in Malda district of West Bengal. Here, seven judicial officers deployed for SIR were allegedly held hostage for several hours in a BDO office in Kaliachowk.
–IANS
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