Massive security deployment ahead of West Bengal bypolls
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has made massive security deployment across the “high voltage” Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly constituencies that go to
by-elections on Tuesday.
According to ECI sources, 71 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) had been deployed to handle the law and order situation in the two polling centres. A total of 15,119 state police personnel had also been deployed across the two constituencies, sources said, adding that the poll authorities had also replaced the Inspector in charge of Nandigram police station hours before the polling was to start.
About 2,66,419 voters would decide the fate of the candidates. Sources in the administration said that 79 out of 323 booths in Nandigram in East Midnapore district had been identified as sensitive, adding that the polling process would be 100 per cent webcast.
There are 315 polling booths at Rejinagar in Murshidabad district. 34 companies of central police forces have been deployed in Rejinagar, along with 675 State police constables.
By-elections were necessitated at Nandigram because local MLA Suvendu Adhikari vacated the seat. Adhikari, who also won the Bhawanipore seat in Kolkata by defeating former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, chose to retain the Kolkata seat. At Nandigram, the contest is between BJP, Congress and the Left.
The Rejinagar seat was vacated by breakaway TMC leader Humayun Kabir, who had also won from the Nowda seat. His son Gulam Nabi Azad was contesting against the Left, Congress and TMC candidates. Results would be declared on October 9.
Meanwhile, Congress candidate Milan Pradhan got some relief when the Supreme Court on Monday refused to cancel his interim bail, which the Calcutta High Court had earlier granted. Pradhan, implicated in six criminal cases dating back to 2007, had been arrested earlier by the State police.
During the hearing on Monday, Justice Joymalya Bagchi recused himself from the case but allowed the the High Court order to prevail until the next hearing.
Adhikari also announced several recruitment drives on Monday in the coming months. About 12,000 recruitments would be made in fire services, correctional homes, forensic departments, etc., he said, adding that the Police emergency number 112 would be launched in Bengal, with each police station getting eight vehicles, including four motorbikes, to reduce reaction time from 1 hour 30 minutes to a few minutes.
Sisodia alleged that these changes could affect the process of inclusion of names in electoral rolls and said the AAP would continue to raise the issue.
