The Election Commission has said that any reported violence or intimidation in the “catchment area” outside a polling station may result in repolling, even if polling at the booth itself is “peaceful”, sources in the state home department said on Wednesday.
Until now, the EC had ordered repolls only in booths that witnessed violence or received complaints of false voting.
“This has never happened before. Earlier, a repoll depended entirely on what happened inside the polling station. This time, any complaint from the catchment area, if found to be genuine, may lead to repolling in that booth,” a senior Bengal Police officer said.
Though there is no precise definition, the “catchment area” broadly refers to the area surrounding a polling station, an officer said.
The EC conveyed the directive during a meeting with senior officers of Bengal Police and Kolkata Police on Wednesday afternoon.
Sources said the EC also said that, unlike in previous elections, central forces could be deployed not only for
area domination before polls and booth security during voting, but also for handling law-and-order situations as required.
“There are specific guidelines for deploying central forces during elections. But this time, we have been told they can be used for law-and-order duties as and when required, and not only for area domination,” a senior Bengal Police officer said.
The directive comes in the backdrop of the violence outside the residence of state minister Shashi Panja in Girish Park and an attack on her ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Calcutta on March 14. The incident had raised questions about why Kolkata Police did not engage central forces to contain the situation.
Sources said that the EC has also informed officers that it will monitor footage from webcasting cameras installed at polling stations during the elections.
Bengal’s new director-general of police, Siddh Nath Gupta, on Wednesday held his first virtual meeting with district chiefs, commissioners and senior officers. The meeting focused on election preparedness as well as the upcoming festivals of Eid, Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti.
Eid and Ram Navami fall on March 21 and March 26, respectively, while Hanuman Jayanti is on April 2. “We have been instructed to ensure that the festivals pass without any violence. Central forces may be deployed if required to maintain law and order,” a district superintendent of police said.