SEC seeks list of sensitive booths

Kolkata: State Election Commission (SEC) sought the booth-based list of sensitive booths from all the districts. The districts have also been directed to provide information regarding sensitive areas, sources in the commission said.

The development comes a day after the SEC held a meeting with the state Home Secretary and the DGP.

Once the SEC receives the list of sensitive booths, it will help the commission to make the deployment of Central forces in a rational manner, said sources.

The SEC will deploy special observers in each district. Senior IAS officers will be made observers for the districts, sources said.

The special observers will give emphasis on the list of sensitive booths in each district.

Meanwhile, Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose summoned State Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha to Raj Bhawan at 2 pm on Saturday but the latter reportedly informed the Governor that he would not be able to meet the Governor due to his preoccupations with Panchayat polls.

Sinha requested Bose to exempt him from appearing during the day and give him an appointment “any other day”, an official said.

“Sinha is not skipping the Governor’s summon. He sought an exemption for today. He has requested the Governor to give him time any other day,” the official added.

Bose had summoned Sinha to Raj Bhavan to update him about the violence that claimed four lives in the state and steps taken by the state government to contain the situation.

The summon comes a day after he paid a visit to violence-hit Bhangar in Bengal’s South 24-Parganas district.

It was learnt that the State Election Commissioner has been preoccupied as scrutiny of nominations has already begun. After visiting Bhangar on Friday, Governor Bose said measures must be taken to end political violence and assured that “perpetrators would be permanently silenced” and “brought to book.” Bose also spoke with some locals and senior police officers and said that violence wouldn’t be tolerated in Bengal.