For final phase, 318 companies of Central Forces to be deployed

The Election Commission will deploy 318 companies of Central Forces to conduct the sixth phase of polling scheduled to be held on May 5.

The election will be held in 25 constituencies spreading over East Midnapore with 16 seats and Cooch Behar with 9 seats. Over 58 lakh voters will exercise their franchise. There are 170 candidates of which 18 are women.

There are 5,438 polling stations. The EC said there were 157 vulnerable hamlets. The EC will provide wheel chairs for disabled voters in all booths in East Midnapore.  Six thousand state police personnel will be deployed to conduct free and fair election.

The EC will deploy 620 digital cameras and 93 RT mobile vans. Besides there will be 38 HRFS and 81 QRT and 74 MC mobiles to conduct peaceful election. 

One hundred and twenty four teams will conduct route march in Cooch Behar and 59 in East Midnapore. There will be 80 flying squads. There will be CCTV cameras amounting to 389 and videography will be done in 466 booths.

The Left delegation that met EC officials on Tuesday urged them to intensify vigil in bordering areas. The Commission will install checking points near Bengal Odisha border.

Around 9000 voters residing in 51 enclaves will cast their votes for the first time since Independence. It is for the enclave dwellers the ECI has taken all the measures to ensure that they could vote freely. Intense campaign was conducted in the area. 

The officers had gone there to teach the voters how to cast their votes. All the enclave dwellers have been given voters identity cards. The enclaves came under India in July last year. EC officials said that every step had been taken to ensure free and fair election in the sixth phase.

The EC has also set up a mobile museum that is going round the area. Its purpose is to train the voters of the enclaves the nuances of voting. Awareness camps have also been set up in these areas. 

The EPIC cards have been distributed by the senior officials. The EC is setting up model polling stations in areas where concentration of voters are more.