Bengal poll body appoints 2 nodal officers for panchayat elections

Kolkata: The West Bengal State Election Commission (WBSEC) on Tuesday informed the Calcutta High Court that it has appointed two nodal officers for the panchayat polls scheduled to take place on Saturday.

The two officers are Javed Shamim, the Additional Director General (law & order) of West Bengal Police; and Amitabha Sengupta, a West Bengal Civil Service (WBCS)- cadre official.

The poll body informed the court of the development in the form of an affidavit.

Shamim will play a key role in coordinating with the WBSEC with regards to the deployment of central armed forces personnel for various poll-related duties.

On the other hand, Sengupta will act as a coordinator between the Commission and the state government

On Monday, the WBSEC had informed the court that the Union Home Ministry confirmed sending 485 more companies of central armed forces for the upcoming elections.

With this, the total number of central forces has increased to 822, with 337 companies already deployed.

Despite the confirmation from the Union Ministry, the WBSEC is yet to specify whether it will be able to deploy the central forces personnel at all the election booths.