What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
State will go to polls on Saturday with 822 companies of central forces, along with state armed police force, on high alert to thwart any untoward incident
KOLKATA: A total of 822 companies of central forces are deployed in 61,636 booths as West Bengal gears up for the crucial panchayat election in less than 24 hours.
As per the official data, 7.84 per cent of the booths, or nearly 5000, in 22 districts are considered vulnerable. Murshidabad district has the highest number of vulnerable booths, with 541 – out of 5438 in the state. Out of 6226 polling stations in South 24 Parganas, 502 are considered vulnerable booths.
Nadia, Purba Medinipur and Howrah districts have 373, 356 and 353 sensitive booths.
Kalimpong in North Bengal has the lowest number of vulnerable polling booths at 8 – out of a total of 263. Alipurduar has the lowest number of vulnerable booths in terms of percentage. Out of 1212 polling booths, it has 25 vulnerable booths, which accounts for 2.06 per cent.
In its recent order, the Kolkata high court stated that the central forces that would be deployed during the election, would stay at least another day after the declaration of results in the upcoming panchayat election. It has come following apprehensions about post-poll violence in the state.
From MGNREGA, recent scams in the state, central forces and the Uniform Civil Code to Manipur violence, the campaigning for the panchayat election saw a varied range of topics discussed during the campaigning phase.
However, the topic that topped the list is the vicious cycle of political violence that has gripped the state since the day the notification for the nomination was announced.
Multiple instances of clashes, violence and killings were reported in the run-up to the elections, with political parties blaming each other for the same.
On Saturday, 5.67 crores voters from West Bengal will decide the fate of over 200,000 candidates who are contesting the election.
The state has a total of 3,317 gram panchayats. There are 928 seats across 22 zilla parishads, 9,730 panchayat samiti seats and 63,229 gram panchayat seats.
