Election Commission concerned over West Bengal violence
Election Commission (EC) chief S Y Quraishi on Saturday said that in the wake of the recent violence in West Bengal the EC was concerned.
Quraishi said the law and order situation in state was worrisome and it was reviewing it to ensure free and fair Assembly polls.
“We are reviewing the law and order and other issues and will do everything possible to ensure a peaceful polling,” he told reporters here.
Quraishi, leading the full bench of the Election Commission (EC), met with leaders from political parties in the state on Saturday to discuss the upcoming Assembly elections.
The Congress party in tune with Trinamool Congress (TMC) for the first time demanded an early Assembly polls in view of the ongoing violence, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) expressed its concern over an alleged Trinamool-Maoist collusion.
The ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) also complained against the “violence unleashed by the Opposition”.
The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) said that the state administration has been instructed to step up efforts on seizing illegal arms and ammunition, preventing illicit liquor trade and identifying susceptible areas across Bengal.
Across the state, about 25,000 booths have so far been identified as “sensitive”, he said.
The CEC once again avoided a direct reply when asked about the possibility of advancing the polls ? a long-held demand of the main Opposition party the TMC.
In August last year, Quraishi had said, ?Constitutionally, the scheduled date of elections in West Bengal fall in June, 2011 and the constitution gives us a wiggle room of 6 months.
Which means even if I wanted, I could not hold the elections before December, 2010.?
On Saturday night, the CEC is expected to meet with the Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, the Director General of Police and other senior officials to hold talks on the elections.
He informed that to ensure a fair election procedure, apart from having polls under video surveillance, a number of external observers would be deployed.
He also said that representatives of political parties would be allowed to check the electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the event of any irregularities.
The total number of voters in West Bengal, standing at 63 percent of the total population, has risen to 5,60,87,187 against 5,49,63,904 recorded in the draft roll, an increase of 11,23,247, Quraishi said.
About 75 percent of the new voters were between 18 and 25 years.
