E-Paper
Bengal election body chief meets guv over panchayat poll prep
Eight people have died in various instances of political violence since the poll date was announced on June 8
Kolkata: West Bengal state election commissioner (SEC) Rajiva Sinha met governor C V Ananda Bose on Sunday to discuss preparations for the July 8 panchayat elections, amid a series of incidents of political violence in the state which has claimed eight lives so far.
The two-hour meeting at Raj Bhavan also took place amid speculation in the administrative circles that a delay in the arrival of the central paramilitary forces to oversee the election process, as mandated by the Calcutta high court and upheld by the Supreme Court, may compel the SEC to reschedule the single-phase election and hold it in multiple phases.
While the state government sought 822 companies of paramilitary forces earlier this week, only 364 companies arrived till Sunday, according to SEC officials aware of the developments. The Centre was unable to update the state on the status of the remaining 458 companies of forces, the officials added.
Hours before the meeting, Bose told reporters: “I did not call him (Sinha). The SEC sought an appointment with the governor. I want to discuss certain vital points as far as the elections are concerned. I know he is busy. He may come today or any other day.”
The governor’s remark was seen as an indirect reference to Sinha avoiding a meeting with the former last week, citing his “busy” schedule.
Sinha did not speak to reporters before or after the meeting. Officials at Raj Bhavan said the governor sought a report from Sinha on how the SEC plans to deploy the central forces.
Eight people have died in various instances of political violence since the poll date was announced on June 8.
On June 13, the high court had directed the SEC to immediately requisition central forces and deploy them especially in constituencies that the polling body has already declared to be sensitive.
The order was challenged by the state government and SEC in the Supreme Court. The top court, however, dismissed their appeals on June 20, noting that both the state government as well as SEC were of the view that additional forces were required for proper elections.
Meanwhile, state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Sunday said that 822 companies of central forces would not be adequate for free and fair polls, and demanded deployment of more forces. “In proportion to the number of booths, I think that this number (822 companies) of central forces is inadequate. I demand more central forces be sent to West Bengal for the panchayat elections,” he said.
