SEC likely to finalise blueprint of security arrangements by Monday

KOLKATA: The State Election Commission (SEC) is likely to finalise the blueprint of security arrangements for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections by Monday after a meeting with senior officials of the police administration on Friday.

The Commission wants to deploy armed police personnel in every single booth for the civic body elections scheduled to be held on December 19.

The SEC has already asked the police administration to make a list of the highly sensitive as well as the sensitive booths. The security aspect involves naka checking, quick response teams, managing queues in front and inside the polling booths.

As per Covid protocols, maximum of 1,200 voters can cast their franchise in a particular booth. In case there are more voters, auxiliary booths have been created.

There are 4048352 voters with the total number of main booths being 4,742 and auxiliary booths being 385.

The police administration has been asked to furnish a report related to security arrangements by Saturday following which the Commission will hold a meeting with District Municipal Election

Officer South 24-Parganas on Sunday. The meeting for finalising the deployment is likely to be held on Monday. BJP has moved Supreme Court with the plea of holding KMC polls with Central forces.

The saffron party has also met Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar with the same appeal a few days back.