The Election Commission of India has put in place unprecedented security arrangement for the ongoing Assembly elections in the states of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and the union territory of Pondicherry.
“The force deployment in the forthcoming Assembly elections will be unprecedented and the Election Commission wants all the people to go to vote freely and safely,” Deputy Election Commissioner Vinod Zutshi told reporters in Kolkatta.
However, Zutshi did not elaborate on the security deployment and said the Commission will not reveal the exact number of the forces deployed. He said there will be mobile patrolling forces along with the state force to ensure free and fair polls. Zutshi said adequate forces have be deployed in vulnerable areas and at sensitive polling stations. “We have seen that certain pockets are disturbed due to some political violence. Special arrangements have been made to curb any such development,” he said.
In Tamil Nadu, beside state police, 240 companies of central paramilitary forces are being deployed across the state for the polls.
All sensitive polling booths in the respective states have been placed under live camera surveillance. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has reiterated that if any political party is found bribing voters, strict action would be taken against them.
Addressing mediapersons in Chennai on Tuesday, Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Kumar said the major challenge before the Election Commission was to stop the doling out of cash for votes.
Meanwhile, in Assam, which went to the polls on Monday, security was tight in areas of the state where Bodoland separatists are fighting for an independent homeland.
Security measures were stepped up in lower and central Assam, where these constituencies are located. The Election Commission identified 2,033 polling stations as hypersensitive, 4,175 as sensitive and 475 of the total 12,589 stations as vulnerable. Special security measures were taken in areas along the India-Bhutan border, where the Ranjan Daimary faction of the insurgent National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) is active and ambushed security forces in the run-up to the polls.
