Calcutta, June 6: Election-day pictures of familiar faces flashing a smile or showing ‘V’ for victory after casting their vote will not be there in newspapers or on TV this time.

The Election Commission has banned the entry of photojournalists and television crews inside booths for the June 19 civic polls. “We are not allowing filming of people, particularly VIPs, casting their ballots for security reasons,” state election commissioner Ajoy Sinha said today.

He also declared as sensitive all the 3,126 booths in the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, Bidhannagar and Uttarpara-Kotrang municipality areas. “Armed police personnel will be deployed in all the booths, instead of home-guards,” he said.

Director-general of police S.C. Avasthy, city police commissioner Prasun Mukherjee, district magistrates and police chiefs of the two 24-Parganas and Hooghly were present at a meeting in the commission’s office this morning to review the security situation.

An official said declaring the booths sensitive was usual.

A reserve contingent would be stationed in every booth to prevent burglaries on polling day. Sinha said robbers often strike on an election day, taking advantage of the absence of household members out to cast votes.

Eastern Frontier Rifles jawans will be deployed at centres where counting will take place on June 21. “The results are expected early afternoon,” Sinha said.

The announcement of poll precautions came on a day mayor Subrata Mukherjee accused a media channel provider of trying to “malign” his image. He lodged a complaint with Sinha and chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. Sinha, however, said “unless Mukherjee submits the video cassette, we cannot take cognisance”.

Mukherjee said the service provider aired the programme between 1 pm and 3 pm on Sunday in the Jadavpur area. “In one scene, an actor is shown offering bribes to the mayor of Calcutta,” he said.