New Delhi: The Election Commission of India will dispatch a high-level team consisting of the deputy election commissioner Sudeep Jain to review poll preparedness and examine the situation in West Bengal before the elections.
The move came a day after a BJP delegation consisting of Nirmala Sitharaman, Ravi Shankar Prasad and J.P. Nadda urged the Election Commission to declare West Bengal a “super-sensitive State”
Speaking to the Hindu, Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “We have requested the EC that West Bengal should be declared super-sensitive. And have also demanded that Central forces should be deployed at all polling booths in the State.”
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Additionally, seeking the withdrawal of former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar from election duty, the party also requested that the EC transfer police officers whose “electoral impartiality is questionable.” According to the Hindustan Times, Prasad also said that “the media is browbeaten in Bengal” and that the party wants “independent media observers” sent to the state.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee slammed the BJP for its comments and said that the saffron party “was trying to hide behind central forces as it can’t win any seat in the state.” “How are they preparing the list of sensitive booths? Since we are fighting against Amit Shah and Modi, we are being targeted. The Election Commission should act impartially,” she added.
The Election Commission also intends to hold an all-party meeting in Kolkata on Friday.
West Bengal will go to polls in seven phases, starting on April 11 to elect MPs to 42 Lok Sabha seats.