- Booths with no police in sight, only central armed police force personnel
- Hindi-speaking, gun-wielding paramilitary jawans keeping a watch
- And a rare show of discipline among cadres of all political parties
This was an election of many firsts in terms of security arrangements.
CAPF everywhere
In a large number of polling booths, local police officers were not even in sight, while the central forces managed the entire security cover inside and outside the polling stations.
A few police personnel in white uniforms were seen a few meters outside the periphery of some polling stations Metro visited.
Unlike the earlier elections, where the queues outside the polling station were managed by the local police, on Wednesday, a radius of 100 meters outside the polling stations where voters were queuing was being managed by the central forces. This year, 2,400 CAPF companies were deployed, almost double the number deployed during the last Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.
The New Town School, with multiple booths, did not have any police personnel in its vicinity around 11am. Similarly, one lady police constable was seen in the vicinity of a polling station at Sonarpur.
All proceedings inside and outside the polling station were managed by the central forces.
Hindi-speaking jawans
Almost all the men who were guarding the polling booths with sophisticated weapons spoke in Hindi, including those who were from Bengal.
This newspaper came across several such CAPF jawans who insisted on speaking Hindi.
“I asked him about his hometown. He said, ‘Hum Bangal se hain (I am from Bengal).’ Then I asked him if he was a Bengali. He repeated the same answer. Then I directly asked his name. He told me. He was Bengali but apparently was reluctant to
utter a word in his mother tongue as if there was an untold mandate,” said an elderly voter who voted from a polling booth in Ballygunge on Wednesday afternoon.
Disciplined party cadres
Political party cadres were visibly disciplined and followed Election Commission guidelines, without attracting any major complaints.
Earlier, party cadres used to have a free run in and around the polling premises, sometimes in the guise of taking water and sometimes just to check if everything was working as per plan.
However, according to the election guidelines, no one except a valid voter is allowed within 200 meters of any polling premises.
The polling stations Metro visited had heavy deployment of central forces all around the booths, and almost none of them had any “visitors” or party cadres roaming around.
CCTV everywhere
Not just the polling stations, even the areas outside the premises were wrapped with CCTV cameras.
“The effect of so many cameras was visible today. The rogue elements were scared to violate any rule because they knew they were being watched,” said an EC official on Wednesday.
Unlike other years, where re-polling in a booth depends on complaints from the polling premises, this year, the EC had announced that any complaints of violence, even from the catchment areas, could lead to a re-poll in that booth.