Full bench of ECI in N Bengal on Mar 23; Spl Police Observer meets Chief Secy

Kolkata: The full bench of the Election Commission of India (ECI) led by Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora is scheduled to tour North Bengal on March 23 and hold a press meet on March 24 to assess poll

preparedness.

The full bench is expected to land at Bagdogra airport at 11.20 am on March 23. The bench at first will hold meeting with state CEO (Chief Electoral Officer) Ariz Aftab and then will hold meeting with the district administration and police top brass.

The District Election Officer (DEO) and police superintendents of all the eight districts in North Bengal—viz Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, Kalimpong, South Dinajpur, North Dinajpur and Malda will be attending the meeting with the full bench. The observers of these districts will also be present duirng the meeting.

On March 24, the full bench will hold a press conference before leaving for Delhi.

During its last visit in the state in January, the full bench had held meeting with the DEOs and SPs of all the eight districts. "Considering the fact that almost all these districts share its boundaries either with national or international borders, the Commission is giving prime importance to security in these districts," a senior official of EC said.

Meanwhile, Special Police Observer Anil Kumar Sharma held meeting with Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay at Nabanna on Thursday to ensure a free and

fair elections.

There was discussion on security arrangements as the campaign of all the political parties are going on in full swing and on issues to ensure that no untoward incident take place during the campaign.

At the same time there was also discussions on maintenance of the law and order situation in the state at the time of elections.