LS elections: ECI to send another 100 companies of Central forces

The forces are scheduled to reach the state by next Wednesday, according to sources in the office of the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). 

MP, 6 Apr 2024, Kolkata: The Election Commission of India (ECI) will be sending at least another 100 companies of Central forces before the first phase of polls in Bengal on April 19. Cooch Behar, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri are slated for polls during the first phase. 

The forces are scheduled to reach the state by next Wednesday, according to sources in the office of the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). The decision was taken in a high-level meeting where CEO, Bengal Aariz Aftab, nodal officer from state police Anand Kumar, nodal officer from Central Armed Paramilitary Forces (CAPF) B K Sharma, special general observer Alok Sinha and special police observer Anil Kumar Sharma were present. 

As per sources, the CEO’s office had requisitioned approximately 320 companies of Central forces to adequately cover all 5814 polling stations across the three constituencies. 

“Only to man the polling stations around 270 companies of Central forces will be required. Apart from that we need forces for the Quick Response Team (QRT), forces for patrolling and reserved forces,” a senior official in the CEO’s office said. 

Presently, there are 177 companies of CAPF (Central Armed Paramilitary Forces) in the state. So with the arrival of another 100 companies, all the polling stations are expected to be manned by Central forces. 

The Commission has already decided to install an AI-based webcasting system across all 5814 booths in the state. “AI-enabled cameras will be strategically stationed within polling booths to record audio-visual data. 

The software scrutinises this data to detect any abnormal crowding or disturbance, promptly alerting the authorities so that immediate interventions can be made. These cameras will be positioned at a specific height, typically above 7 feet, within polling station so that it can comprehensive coverage of activities,” an official at the CEO’s office said. 

According to the vulnerability mapping done by the commission, 85 per cent of the booths (1736 of the total 2043 booths) in Cooch Behar, 72 per cent of the booths (1350 of the total 1876 booths) in Alipurduar and 64 per cent (1218 booths of the total 1904) are considered to be sensitive. 

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/ls-elections-eci-to-send-another-100-companies-of-central-forces-558871