EC to retain 200 companies of Central Forces till May 27 EC to retain 200 companies of Central Forces till May 27

MP |20 May 2019| Kolkata: The Election Commission will retain 200 companies of Central Forces in the state till May 27, to assist counting and also to handle post-poll violence, if any. 

Out of the 200 companies, 82 will be deployed for the counting centres while the rest will be deployed in areas where the commission anticipates post-poll violence. 

"The remaining 510 companies of Central Forces that were present in the state during the last phase of elections on Sunday, will move out now," a senior EC official said.

According to the EC official, there will be 58 counting centres across the state, with at least one centre in each of the 42 parliamentary constituencies. There will be 144 observers deputed for the counting process. 

"There will be a three-tier security system and section 144 will be imposed around all counting centres. The first layer will be maintained by the state police to keep interested people out of the purview of the counting centres. The second layer will be managed by the state armed police, while the third layer – in and around the counting halls – will be maintained by the Central Forces," the official said.