Kolkata:
Ahead of panchayat elections in West Bengal beginning July 11, the state election commission today reviewed law and order and poll arrangements in a meeting with district magistrates and police chiefs of nine districts going to poll in the first three of the five phases.
"It is a formal meeting to assess the situation before going to the main polling process," commission's secretary Tapas Roy said while briefing media on the meeting chaired by State Election Commissioner Mira Pandey.
Starting from deployment of central force, state armed force and polling personnel, the entire preparation up to the booth-level was discussed in the meeting, he said.
The district authority have specifically been asked to chalk out detailed deployment plans taking into account available central and state forces in various phases, Mr Roy said.
The districts of Purulia, Bankura and West Midnapore go to poll on July 11 in the first phase, East Midnapore, Hooghly and Burdwan districts on July 15 in the second phase, and Howrah, South 24-Parganas and North 24-Parganas districts on July 19 in the third phase.
Mr Roy said 150 companies of central force (about 15,000 personnel) earmarked for the first phase poll in districts covering Jangalmahal would be deployed immediately on their arrival on July 8.
Besides, 35,000 state armed forces would be deployed during the first phase, he said.
The SEC has called an-all party meet tomorrow to discuss various issues raised by them and for redressal of their complaints, Mr Roy said.
Later, the DMs and SPs of the nine districts joined a meeting at the state secretariat, where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Chief Secretary Sanjay Mitra, Home Secretary Basudeb Banerjee and DGP Naparajit Mukherjee were present to review law and order in the districts.