The Election Commission has deployed 793 companies of Central armed security forces for 44 seats in the fourth phase of Assembly polls in the State scheduled on Saturday.
This is the highest-ever deployment in the ongoing polls in the State. While Cooch Behar has been allotted the highest number of 188 companies for nine seats, 103 companies have been allotted for the Howrah Police Commissionerate and 33 companies for rural Howrah district. For the Howrah Police Commissionerate area, the Commission has also appointed a senior police officer who will report to the Howrah Police Commissioner.
Elections are held across five districts, two in north Bengal — Cooch Behar and Alipurduar — and three in south Bengal including Howrah, Hooghly and the constituencies in South 24 Parganas bordering Kolkata. The ECI has deployed 101 companies for the seats under the jurisdiction of the Kolkata police. About 1.15 crore voters will choose from 373 candidates in 15,940 polling stations.
A district-wise break-up of the seats shows South 24 Parganas (11), Hooghly (10), Howrah (9) in south Bengal, Cooch Behar (9) and Alipurduar district (five).
A number of high-profile candidates including Ministers of the Trinamool Congress, BJP MPs and key leaders of the Samyukt Morcha are locked in the contest. While Education Minister Partha Chatterjee is contesting from Behala Purba, Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Arup Biswas is in the fray in the Tollygunj in South 24 Parganas, Minister for North Bengal Development Rabindranath Ghosh from Natabari Assembly seat in Cooch Behar and Minister for Agriculture Marketing Arup Roy is contesting from Howrah Madhya.
Babul Supriyo, MP from Asansol and Union Minister for State, is locked in a bitter contest in Tollygunj, while Locket Chatterjee, MP from Hooghly, is contesting from Chinsurah in the Hooghly district. Cooch Behar BJP MP Nisith Pramanik is contesting from the Dinhata seat in the same district. Leader of the Opposition and Congress leader Abul Mannan is contesting from Chapdani in Hooghly, CPI(M) Polit Bureau Member from Chanditala in Hooghly while leader of the Left Legislature party Sujan Chakraborty is trying to defend Jadavpur seat on the southern fringes of the city.
