Ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in West Bengal, the Election Commission will initially deploy 480 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) across the state beginning March 1 to carry out area domination, confidence-building measures and other poll-related duties, an EC official said on Saturday.

According to the official, the first batch of around 240 companies will be inducted by March 1, followed by an equal number by March 10 to strengthen the security grid in the poll-bound state.

In addition to maintaining law and order, the CAPF personnel will be tasked with guarding electronic voting machines (EVMs) at strong rooms and counting centres throughout the election process.

The contingents will comprise personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).

The assembly elections in the state are due in a few months. Meanwhile, the final electoral roll following the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is scheduled to be published on February 28, and the election schedule is expected to be announced in March.