Central force deployment on agenda as CEO heads to Delhi
Times of India | 4 January 2026
Kolkata: Bengal chief electoral officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal will meet Election Commission (EC) officials and Union home ministry officials in Delhi on Monday to discuss the deployment of central forces during the upcoming assembly elections.
With polls likely to be held in April, EC is giving top priority to security of voters at booths, an official said, adding that the EC wants central forces at all booths to maintain sanctity of the poll process.
Around 1,000 companies of central forces were deployed in Bengal during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. EC officials are expected to take a call on deployment considering elections are also scheduled in Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.
EC officials are keeping in mind that there was widespread resentment towards central forces during the 2021 assembly polls after a CISF soldier opened fire leading to the death of four voters.
The official said route marches by central forces would be held well ahead of the polls as a confidence-building measure, and plans for that will be discussed at the meeting.
Meanwhile, EC has issued a show-cause notice to the booth-level officer of Kharibari in Naxalbari area for allegedly summoning voters in excess of need. EC found summoning 40 voters would have sufficed, but the official had summoned 169 voters.