Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Wednesday questioned the massive deployment of security personnel for the Bengal Assembly polls, saying the scenario suggested that the CAPF and the Election Commission, not the BJP, were fighting the elections.

Sibal alleged this was a “gross abuse of state machinery”.

“It is shocking. It seems that there is an emergency imposed in the state of West Bengal,” Sibal said, underlining that 2,400 platoons central armed police forces (CAPF) or 2.4 lakh forces were placed there.

“It seems that the BJP is not fighting this election. It seems that the CAPF and the Election Commission are fighting this election. This is gross abuse of state machinery,” Sibal said. He said such a massive number of CAPF personnel would not be seen in troubled Jammu and Kashmir or Manipur.

Sibal referred to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari’s controversial statement on the implementation of “bulldozer politics” in Bengal and Union home minister Amit Shah referring to chief minister Mamata Banerjee as “E Didi, kaan khol ke sun lo”. “The kind of speeches they are making is unbelievable,” he said. “Is this the way to conduct yourself?” he asked, referring to Shah. “You are the home minister.”

Sibal pointed out that around 483 officials were transferred in Bengal and asked: “Where does the CEC get these powers from?”

“And everyone is quiet, no institution is responding,” Sibal said, calling it very dangerous for democracy.

“It is a shame that we have an Election Commissioner of this nature. It is an absolute national shame, that’s all I can say. It is also a national shame that nobody is doing anything about it,” he said, referring to the mass deletions of voter names in Bengal.

On the outcome of the polls, Sibal said the feedback coming in was that Mamata would emerge victorious despite all this.