EC to deploy 100% of the central police force for the 5th phase of elections in Bengal

With the constantly increasing poll violence through all 4 phases of elections in Bengal, the Election Commission has finally declared that 100% of the central police forces will be deployed in the rest of the constituencies for the 5^th phase to be held on 6^th May. The conditions in Bengal have been the worst compared to all the other states in the country.

The BJP had requested for the EC to deploy central forces in West Bengal after the violence in the state reached unprecedented scale. The constituencies that are going for the polls in the 5^th phase have sitting MPs from the Trinamool Congress. To ensure that there is no intimidation and that people are not scared of going to booths to vote, the EC has now granted supervision of the booths by deploying the central police force. The rampant violence in West Bengal by the TMC goons has troubled the voters. 

In the past, the 4th phase of West Bengal elections was marred with TMC led violence. In the Asansol constituency, TMC goons again resorted to violence to disturb the polling process.  The vehicle of the BJP candidate and Union Minister Babul Supariyo was vandalized outside a polling station in Barabani.

The state police forces were passive in reacting to the violence in the state, electoral officers also claimed that they did not feel secure despite the state police being deployed. There were cases involved where the state police stood silent and did nothing while the candidates were being attacked by TMC goons.

As violence continues to plague the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in Bengal, a poll officer went missing ahead of the 2nd phase of elections in Nadia. In this regard and out of concern for their security, electoral officers sent a request to the EC for providing central forces in all booths. The poll officials said that they feel insecure and had protested against the state police forces. They had lost all trust in the state government and their security arrangements and wanted central forces to be deployed.

After all these incidences, the Election Commission finally heard the request of the BJP and decided a 100% deployment of the central police force in West Bengal. It is clear that the TMC is resorting to blatant violence in order to somehow retain power in the state. At such a time, the Election Commission has finally taken a strong step to ensure that the democratic ethos of the country is upheld and no such anti-social elements are allowed to openly affect the polling process.