In separate delegations, parties opposed to the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal met the full Election Commission bench at a city hotel. The EC full bench is in Bengal to take stock of the law and order situation and poll preparation and will hold meetings with all stakeholders.
A BJP delegation led by Jagannath Chattopadhyay urged the poll panel to send police, general, and special observers to the state as soon as poll notification is issued.
“These observers must come to the state as soon as notification is issued and conduct tours across the state. They should not trust the state police at all. They should rely on information provided by the Centre, central agencies, and Opposition parties while operating in the state. Otherwise, there are chances that they will be misled,” said Chattopadhyay.
“We have urged the EC to appoint a former chief secretary or a former DGP as police observer or special observer for the state. Many feel that the CEO office in West Bengal acts as a branch of Trinamool Congress. Central forces must be utilised more to conduct route march to instil confidence among the voters,” added Chattopadhyay.
CPI(M) leader Samik Lahiri, who led a party delegation to the meeting, said, “In previous elections, we saw that the EC relied on state police to deploy central forces in poll duty. If they do the same, then the state police will turn them ineffective. Therefore, the central police must be deployed properly and adequately to ensure free, fair and peaceful polls.”
Meanwhile, the TMC urged the Election Commission to ensure that the BJP and central agencies do not pressure central forces and impede the election process.
“The Election Commission must provide a level-playing field to all parties. It must not hold the election in multiple phases for Bengal so that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah get the time to hold multiple election rallies. If needed, they must deploy double the number of forces but hold the election in one phase for Bengal,” said TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee, who was part of a delegation which met the EC
“Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel must not work as an agent of BJP. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is controlling them. Here, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari decides where the central force should go. This must not be allowed. If this continues, then how will people have faith in central forces? The EC needs to act fairly and impartially. Moreover, ED and CBI should not be used to target the Opposition during the election process,” added Banerjee.
“The EC should also keep an eye on Suvendu Adhikari, who is a habitual offender,” added Banerjee.