Calcutta, April 22: The Centre today turned down Bengal’s request for central forces for the May panchayat elections, forcing the state to sound out the Narendra Modi government in Gujarat.

The Union home ministry informed the government it would not have enough personnel to spare as the forces would have to be sent to Karnataka for the Assembly elections next month.

“We are not getting central forces. We have been told that they will be sent to Karnataka where the Assembly elections will be held next month,” state home secretary Asok Mohan Chakraborti said.

He said the presence of the forces would have ensured better management of the three-tier rural polls, due on May 11, 14 and 16. “The presence of the CRPF would have made it easier to conduct transparent and peaceful polls in the state.”

Home department sources said Chakraborti, having no option, called up counterparts in the BJP governments in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh for help.

“We have approached the Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh governments and other states like Assam, Jharkhand and Bihar,” Chakraborti said.

“But Assam and Jharkhand have expressed regret, citing their own troubles. We have not heard from Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh yet.”

A home department official said he could see no problem with or nothing wrong about taking help from BJP-ruled states. “Police forces are independent of political affiliation, whether they belong to BJP-ruled states or not.”

Bengal requires at least a one lakh-strong force to man its 47,731 polling booths. But it only has a 50,000-strong force, including home guards.

At least 25,000 CRPF personnel have already been deployed in trouble-torn parts of Bengal such as Darjeeling, Nandigram and Maoist-infested Purulia, Bankura and West Midnapore districts.

“But it is not possible to withdraw the forces from vulnerable areas for the rural polls,” Chakraborti said.

Unable to find a way out, he held talks with chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi also sent for him.

Chakraborti said although there was no provision for deploying central forces for the rural polls, they could be made to stand in for state police who could be put on poll duty.

State election commissioner Ashok Gupta said there would be a problem on hand if adequate forces were not available. “We have asked for two armed guards in each booth.”

Raj Kanujia, inspector general of police, law and order, said it would be difficult to deploy policemen in booths if forces were not available. “We will try to work it out,” he said.