The Nadia district administration will engage school students under 18, enrolled in the National Cadet Corps (NCC), as volunteers to collect the mobile phones of voters outside the booths during the Kaliganj Assembly bypoll on June 19.

The order, based on an Election Commission of India guideline issued in 2024, has raised eyebrows in political and administrative circles as elections in Bengal often turn violent.

"Volunteers from NCC/NSS/ Scout & Guides should be deployed to manage the voters' queue.... The age of volunteers should be less than 18 years," the EC guideline said.

A bureaucrat said the initiative had been implemented in other states in earlier elections where NCC cadres or students involved with the NSS were used as volunteers to help the elderly stand in queues outside polling stations. "But this provision was never used in Bengal. Considering the political situation in the state, it seems to be a risky move,” he said.

Sources said that in the run-up to the recent bypoll the EC stressed that voters would not be allowed to enter the voting area with mobile phones.

“As the designated polling officers, including the presiding officers, and security personnel cannot handle the additional responsibility, NCC cadets are being deployed following an EC guideline that clearly states these cadets can be engaged as volunteers,” said a senior official of the Nadia district administration.

A letter issued by the returning officer of the Kaliganj Assembly constituency on June 1 requested some schools in the Kaliganj block to submit details of their NCC cadets. The directive triggered criticism, as many school authorities, teachers and bureaucrats felt involving school students in the poll process was inappropriate and unsafe.

“Involving minors in the election does not appear to be a wise decision given the past record of violence in the elections in Bengal,” said a bureaucrat.

Bijoy Krishna Roy, headmaster of Debagram SA School, said they received a letter from the administration seeking details of NCC cadets.

"I am concerned about their possible engagement as volunteers during the polls. Nevertheless, I was compelled to comply with the order. I asked the teacher-in-charge of the NCC programme to prepare the list immediately," Roy said.

A teacher of Mira Balika Vidyankatan in Palashi echoed Roy. “The higher-ups asked us to send the list of NCC cadets. We have 77 such students and have sent their names,” he said.

Teachers' organisations across Nadia unanimously condemned the move.

“Is it legally acceptable to give such a responsibility to students under the age of 18? They are not even eligible to vote. There is great risk considering the charged political situation on any polling day in Bengal. Students can also fall ill in this scorching heat,” a teacher said.

Kingshuk Chakraborty, president of the Nadia district committee of the West Bengal Headteachers’ Association, said: “This is probably the first time I am hearing of such a decision. If there is any chaos at the polling station, what will inexperienced students do? Who will provide security to students?”

Leaders from two ends of the political spectrum — the Trinamool Congress and the BJP — slammed the decision.

Dilip Singh, president of the Trinamool Secondary Teachers' Association of Nadia North, said: "This decision is very objectionable. Why should young children, who are still not voters, get involved in the voting process? Who will protect them if there is tension at the polling station? Who will take responsibility if an accident occurs?"

Amit Chatterjee, the convener of the BJP’s Nadia North organisational district, said: “This is a very unfair order. We strongly oppose it. I shall write to the appropriate authorities so that the decision is withdrawn.”

A senior district official said that they were only following the EC guideline.

“The issue of the security of students in case of chaos would be discussed in the meetings ahead of the polls. There will be central forces in almost all booths. Security personnel could be given clear instructions about the NCC cadets,” said the official.

NCC officials in Nadia said they had not been consulted on the poll-time deployment of cadets.

An NCC officer of colonel rank, while not coming on record, said: “NCC cadets, who are minors, can't be engaged in poll duties. Approval of the NCC must be sought before processing or seeking data about cadets."

Lt. (Dr.) Ranjan Banerjee, the associate NCC officer of 14 Bengal BN NCC, Muragacha in Nadia, also expressed strong reservations. "Engaging NCC students in poll duties can be a risky affair. It can't be permitted.”