The Election Commission, in consultation with the Bengal government, has finalised the plan to deploy 240 companies of central forces starting March 1 reportedly over law-and-order concerns once the post-SIR electoral rolls are published on February 28.

“The way the deployment of 240 companies of central forces has been planned, it gives a clear hint that the EC wanted to ensure that no law-and-order situation arises in the state after the post-SIR rolls are published on February 28. Most of the forces were deployed in the Bangladesh-bordering districts from where several incidents were reported during the SIR,” said a senior bureaucrat in the poll panel.

According to the plan, 30 companies of the central forces would be deployed in North 24-Parganas, 16 in Murshidabad, 15 in South 24-Parganas, 12 each in Malda and Nadia, 11 in North Dinajpur, 10 in South Dinajpur and nine in Cooch Behar. All these districts share their border with Bangladesh.

These apart, 15 companies of the central forces would be deployed in Howrah, 14 in East Midnapore and Hooghly, 12 in Calcutta, eight in East Burdwan, seven in Bankura, Birbhum, West Burdwan, West Midnapore and Jalpaiguri, and five in Purulia, Jhargram and Alipurduar.

According to poll panel sources, the deployment plan was prepared with two factors in mind. First, these districts have the maximum number of voters with logical discrepancies in their enumeration forms. Second, the bulk of complaints of manhandling SIR officers came from these districts.

Sources said that it was clear that the post-SIR rolls would not initially include 60 lakh disputed voters, whose fate would be decided by the judicial officers following the recent Supreme Court verdict.

These voters could be kept under the “pending verification” category. Voter names in this category would be included in the rolls through a supplementary list once judicial officers clear them.

“In remote areas of Bengal, it may be tough to make voters believe that those who are left out now could be included later, once the judicial officers clear them. This might trigger disturbances in some areas,” said a state government official, explaining the need for deploying central forces.

A bureaucrat in the poll panel said that the central forces would be under the disposal of district authorities from March 1.

“The call to deploy the central forces will have to be taken by the district magistrates and superintendents of police. Apart from their election-related work such as area domination and guarding polling booths during elections, the forces can be deployed to maintain law and order till the election dates are declared. The EC will keep a watch on whether central forces are being used properly,” said a poll panel official.

The Union ministry of home affairs has already informed the state that another 240 companies of central forces would be sent to Bengal on March 10.

Each company will have 72 jawans.

It is the first time in recent memory that the EC has requested the Centre to send central forces to Bengal even before the election dates have been declared.

“The way 480 companies of central forces will be sent to Bengal in March before the announcement of poll dates, it seems that the EC could deploy more forces compared to the 2021 Bengal elections when 1,100 companies of central forces were deployed,” said an official.