Calcutta, March 14: Former Bengal poll boss Mira Pande today met the full bench of the Election Commission of India and requested that adequate measures be put in place for free and fair polls and "restoration of democracy to the state".

"We were here to alert the commission on the situation in Bengal. We asked the commission to ensure restoration of democracy to the state by enabling people to cast their votes without fear or favour this time," said Pande, who had in 2013 dragged the state government to the Supreme Court on security and other electioneering arrangements for the panchayat polls.

Sources said the retired IAS officer had sought an appointment with chief election commissioner Nasim Zaidi.

"CEC saheb agreed and met her as soon as he reached the New Town hotel this evening. He then conducted meetings with the main political parties of the state. She, being the former poll panel chief, must have had a lot to say about the situation in Bengal," the source said.

Along with Pande, former Supreme Court judge Asok Kumar Ganguly and former Jadavpur University vice-chancellor Ashok Nath Basu met the full bench. The trio represented Justice Ganguly's apolitical platform, which sources said sought the commission's intervention to ensure the Assembly elections were not vitiated by the ruling establishment.

During the 15-minute meeting, Zaidi and election commissioners Achal Kumar Joti and Om Prakash Rawat were said to have sought Pande's perspective on the challenges of electioneering in the state.

"The commission is aware of the rampant vitiation of polls in local elections like the panchayat polls of 2013 and the civic polls of 2015. There is a great deal that Pande might be able to offer by way of experience," a poll panel official said.

The official added: "Unfortunately, because of the paucity of time tonight, the commission could not take details from her on how the elections have been at the ground level in Bengal since 2013. But she might be requested to help out as a consultant."

Sources said commission officials, during previous meetings with Opposition parties from Bengal, had been repeatedly advised to seek inputs from Pande because of her "vast experience".

The officials were reportedly asked to factor in how Pande's successor S.R. Upadhaya - a retired WBCS officer the chief minister had handpicked - was allegedly cornered into resigning last year after being pressed by the ruling party over his consideration of the Opposition's demands for repolls in civic elections to Bidhannagar.

"Pande had fought the government tooth and nail in court. Upadhaya was forced to step down. These two instances are enough evidence of how the recent elections had been reduced to a farce by Nabanna. We were very glad that the commission met her tonight," said CPM state secretariat member Rabin Deb, who led the CPM delegation to the full bench.

After Pande had dragged the Mamata Banerjee government to the Supreme Court in 2013, it had had upheld Pande's demands and ordered the government to fall in line.