The West Bengal government has cancelled all leaves for police personnel till the end of counting for the forthcoming panchayat polls.
The order comes into effect from June 10 and will continue till July 11, the date of counting. The polls will be conducted in a single phase on July 8.
Though it is not yet clear if the State Election Commission (SEC) will agree on the deployment of central armed forces for the panchayat elections, State Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha has said that people should have faith in the state administration’s capability of holding free and fair elections.
Earlier on Friday, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court observed that five days are not enough for filing nominations for 75,000 seats for the panchayat polls and there is a need for a review of the situation by the SEC. The bench also directed the state government to submit its observations on the deployment of central armed forces before the court on Monday.
Immediately after the court observation, Sinha held a meeting with the top bureaucrats and police officers of the state to review the situation.
After the meeting, Sinha said he had a discussion on the possibilities of deploying enough state police personnel in each and every booth for the rural civic body polls.
However, he did not make it clear if the deadline for filing nominations will be extended.
“No decision has been taken so far in this matter. The nomination process just started today. We will take a decision according to the evolving situation,” Sinha said.
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