Bengal by-polls: Two of four assembly seats under EC scanner for security reasons

Kolkata, July 6 (IANS) Two of the four assembly constituencies, Bagdah in North 24 Parganas district and Ranaghat Dakshin in Nadia, which will be going to by-polls on July 10, are under the scanner of the Election Commission (EC) from security perspectives.

In terms of central armed police forces (CAPF) deployment, insiders from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal said, the Commission is stressing higher mobilisation of forces in terms of polling booth deployment and quick response team (QRT) formation as both the seats are sensitive.

Bagdah will have maximum deployment, with 960 personnel for the polling booths and 192 personnel for the QRTs. Ranaghat Dakshin will follow with 900 personnel for the polling booths and 180 for the QRTs.

The deployment will be comparatively lesser for the two other assembly constituencies namely Maniktala in Kolkata and Raiganj in North Dinajpur district.

In the case of Raiganj, 672 personnel will be deployed at polling booths and 192 for QRTs. For Maniktala, 720 personnel will be deployed for polling booths and 144 for the QRTs.

Insiders from the CEO's office said that in the by-polls, special focus had been given to the effective utilisation of QRTs in the backdrop of flooding complaints in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls of the late arrival of such teams in areas where tension broke out.

“This time, the Commission is strict that such complaints should not recur. So the deployment of CAPF at booth-level and for QRTs will be much higher in comparison to the limited areas covered under these four assembly constituencies,” said an official from the CEO's office.

As per the statistics of the 2021 assembly polls and assembly-wise results in the Lok Sabha polls, BJP is comfortably placed in Raiganj, Bagdah and Ranaghat Dakshin while Trinamool has the edge in Maniktala.