EC to deploy three categories of observers during polls

Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday announced that three categories of observers will be deployed in the State during the six phases of elections.There will be 193 general observers who will arrive at the Assembly constituencies on the final day of submitting nominations, whereas the number of the expenditure observers will be around 66. The expenditure observers will reach their respective constituencies on the date of election notifications. The police observers will be 21 in number who will monitor the law and order situation in the police station areas. Additional Chief Electoral Officer Dibyendu Sarkar in a press conference on Wednesday said that three police observers will be deployed in the two days of first phase election starting from April 4. For the first day of the of the phase I election scheduled on April 4 there will be only one police observer who will arrive in the constituencies on March 18, while the rest two meant for the second day of phase II election scheduled on 11 April will arrive on March 21. Sarkar also said that district like Nadia, Kolkata North, Murshidabad, North 24-Parganas will have one police observer each. There will be one police observer for Bankura, West Midnapore, Burdwan and there will be seven police observers for North Bengal districts apart from Cooch Behar. Meanwhile, it may be mentioned that the full Bench of the Election Commission that had visited that had held various meeting in the city on Monday and Tuesday had said that there will be police station level review in which the activities of the police personnel at various police stations will be closely monitored by the commission.

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation had deployed around 650 persons who have removed 1355 flags, 2643 temporary hoardings, 248 political flexes. The Election Commissions full Bench on Tuesday had given an ultimatum to the KMC commissioner Khalil Ahmed to remove the banners within 48 hours. Following the instruction from the EC, KMC officials formed 50 teams to remove the banners.