The campaigning for the fourth phase of West Bengal Assembly elections ended on Saturday evening. Polling for 49 seats in Howrah and North 24 Parganas districts will be held on Monday.
About 1.08 crore voters will exercise their franchise. The fate of 345 candidates — 202 in North 24 Parganas and 143 in Howrah district — will be decided on Monday.
The Election Commission will deploy more than 600 companies of Central forces in this phase. “About 672 companies of Central forces and 23,000 State police force personnel will be deployed,” EC sources said. In the Howrah Police Commissionerate area, 75 companies of Central forces and 3,000 State police personnel will be deployed and in the Howrah rural area, 152 companies of Central forces and more than 5,000 State police personnel will be deployed.
In North 24 Parganas, 257 companies of Central forces and more than 5,000 State police personnel will be deployed.
In a release, the EC said: “The entire election machinery including police authorities should curb violence at all cost and ensure free, fair and peaceful elections.” It said poll-related violence was being “closely monitored and strict action would be taken against perpetrators irrespective of their political affiliation.”
Heavyweights such as Finance Minister Amit Mitra and former Transport Minister Madan Mitra — currently in jail — are in the fray. While Mr. Amit Mitra seeks to get re-elected from the Khardaha seat in North 24 Parganas, Mr. Madan Mitra is in the fray from the Kamarhati seat in the same district. He was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation for his alleged involvement in the Saradha chit fund scam. Other high profile candidates are former Finance Minister Ashim Dasgupta and Food Minister Jyotipriyo Mallick. Law Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya and Minister for Backward Class Development Upen Biswas are contesting in North 24 Parganas while Minister for Agriculture Marketing Arup Roy and Irrigation Minister Rajib Biswas are contesting from Howrah district.
