After two days of on-ground assessments in West Bengal by the full bench of Election Commission, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Tuesday said that the state police had been told to act impartially and ensure that there was no violence in the run up to Lok Sabha elections.
“There is no place for violence in elections. The Bengal bureaucracy has been asked to be impartial. The SPs have been repeatedly told that if there is any complaint of intimidation, they should take immediate action. They have assured us that it will be done. If they don’t act, we know what needs to be done to make them act,” Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said.
He said that strict instructions have been issued to the West Bengal bureaucracy to ensure a level playing field for all political parties, and asserted that any form of violence will not be tolerated during the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
He said that the EC had told the State and district administrations to ensure transparency in granting permissions to parties for ground and meeting places for campaigning based on a “First In First Out principle”.
Kumar, addressing a press conference here after meeting representatives of all political parties, said: “There is no place for fear or intimidation in elections. Any partisan approach to the bureaucracy will not be tolerated; we have made this clear. There is absolutely no tolerance for any form of violence in this celebration of democracy.” He added that the goal of the Election Commission was to ensure free, fair and violence-free elections in the State. Referring to the proposed deployment of 920 companies in West Bengal, Kumar said a sufficient number of central forces would be deployed in West Bengal, and it would be done in an “impartial manner”. The proposed deployment is the second-highest in the country. Speaking on the deployment of Central forces, he said: “An adequate number of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) will be deployed in the State in advance for confidence-building measures. Some companies have already reached the State.”
“The deployment of the CAPF will be made in consultation with District Electoral Officers (DEOs), Superintendents of Police, Police Commissioners, and General Observers to sensitive areas.
The CAPF deployment plan must be shared with political parties during weekly meetings,” Kumar said.
CEC Rajiv Kumar also emphasised that the law enforcement agencies had been instructed to maintain strict surveillance on both inter-state and international borders to curb the flow of inducements, especially drugs, gold, and counterfeit Indian currency.
Kumar stated: “No civic volunteers or contractual staff should be assigned election duties or tasked with maintaining law and order, either directly or indirectly. Police officials have been instructed to be impartial and be accessible to all political parties at the district level.
It is imperative to maintain impartiality even at the junior level where officials operate at the grassroots, he emphasised.
Kumar stressed the necessity for various agencies of both the State and central government, including the Enforcement Directorate (ED), to work in a coordinated manner rather than in isolation to ensure “inducement-free elections.” Regarding the EC’s efforts to curb the use of money power and liquor in elections, he emphasised the need for swift and stringent action against liquor kingpins.
Speaking on the deployment of central forces, he affirmed, “An adequate number of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) will be deployed in the State in advance for confidence-building measures.” “The deployment will be made in consultation with District Electoral Officers (DEOs), Superintendents of Police, Police Commissioners, and General Observers to sensitive areas. The CAPF deployment plan must be shared with political parties during weekly meetings,” Kumar said.
“We have instructed all agencies to ensure strict action is taken against the use of money power during elections. We must halt the influx and distribution of liquor, cash, freebies, and drugs. Liquor smugglers must be apprehended. There must be vigilant monitoring of illicit online cash transfers via wallets,” he emphasised.
The CEC said that the total electorate in the State stands at 7.58 crore, comprising approximately 3.85 crore male and 3.73 crore female voters, with around 15.25 lakh being first-time voters.