West Bengal elections 2021: Discussions on need for central forces held

New Delhi, Jan 13: The Election Commission on Tuesday discussed with Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla the availability and requirement of central security forces for the upcoming assembly elections in five states/Union territory.

The meeting held at Nirvachan Sadan, the EC headquarters here, was "primarily to discuss requirement vis-à-vis availability of central armed police forces (CAPFs), and related matters, for the upcoming Assembly Elections to the States of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, and the Union Territory of Puducherry," a brief EC statement said.

The terms of the legislative assemblies of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry are coming to an end on different dates in May and June this year. The assembly elections are likely to take place sometime in April-May.

Keeping in mind social distancing norms due to coronavirus pandemic, the Commission could increase the number of polling stations in these states to restrict the number of voters per polling station.

In the recently-held Bihar polls, the number of voters per polling station was reduced from 1,200 to 1,000, resulting in creation of additional polling stations.

More polling stations would mean deployment of additional election staff and security personnel.