Bengal has reported 303 cases of “political clashes” since the model code of conduct came into effect on March 15, but only 149 arrests have been made so far, according to police sources.

On Thursday, all police commissionerates and district police chiefs were instructed to launch special drives to arrest those accused in these cases. The directive came from the state police directorate.

“It was conveyed to us that 303 cases of political clashes have been registered in the state since March 15, 2026, and only 149 people have been arrested so far. In accordance with the Election Commission of India’s instructions, a special drive is to be conducted to arrest all the accused in these cases, and further arrests should be made,” an officer posted in a south Bengal district said.

An official in the Election Commission said the number of arrests should be higher than the number of reported incidents if action had been taken in all the cases. “Generally, groups are involved in political clashes. If only 149 have been arrested in 303 cases, it suggests that action has not been taken in at least half of the cases,” the official said.

Incidents of political violence have been reported from districts, including Malda, Bhangar, Murshidabad and Cooch Behar.

In Calcutta, most of the clashes were during protests over the deletion of voters from the electoral rolls during the SIR.

The deletion of around 90 lakh names from the voter rolls has emerged as the biggest election issue this time. Polling stations where more than 150 voters have been removed from the rolls have been classified as “super sensitive” and earmarked for special security deployment.

According to protocol, the police directorate is required to send daily reports on the law-and-order situation and action taken in reported cases to the Election Commission. Based on these reports submitted till Thursday, the state home department has directed all police commissionerates and district chiefs to intensify raids and expedite arrests in connection with political clashes.

All police chiefs were asked to submit the compliance reports and the number of arrests compared to cases registered in the respective jurisdictions to the police directorate by Sunday.