EC to deploy 578 companies of Central Forces covering almost 100% booths

Kolkata: The Election Commission will have 100 percent deployment of the Central Forces in the booths in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha polls with a total deployment of 578 companies. Seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Bengal go to polls on May 6.

Apart from the Central Forces, there will be 142 Quick Response Teams (QRT) which will be on patrol in these constituencies and rush whenever there will be reports of any irregularities. The elections will be held in Bongaon, Barrackpore, Howrah, Uluberia, Serampore, Hooghly and Arambag and the Commission has already identified the trouble-prone areas.

Sources in the Commission said a major challenge on their part is to ensure free and fair elections in Barrackpore that has witnessed incidents of sporadic clashes in recent times between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP. There will be more than 70 companies of the Central Forces for Barrackpore alone. Bhatpara is one of the Assembly constituencies in Barrackpore which was won by Arjun Singh with a Trinamool Congress' ticket in 2016 Assembly polls. Singh had joined the BJP and has been fielded by the saffron party against TMC's Dinesh Trivedi who had won the Barrackpore seat in the last Lok Sabha polls.

Special Police Observer Vivek Dubey will visit Barrackpore to review the situation on Sunday. He will hold a meeting with the district election officials and also the political parties. According to sources in the state administration, Barasat police district will have 55 companies, Basirhat will have 12, Barrackpore and Chandannagore police commissionerates will have 50 and 52 companies while Hooghly rural will have 154 companies, Howrah rural will have 119 companies and Howrah police commissionerate will have 48 companies of the Central Forces.