Big fights in store as Bengal goes to polls

With the fifth and penultimate phase of elections to the Bengal Assembly on Saturday, the polling is moving into arguably the most high-profile phase.

Polling will take place amidst a massive presence of central police forces which the Election Commission has used to clamp down on the spirit of ruling party workers.

The phase, which will witness polling at seven seats in south Kolkata and its fringes including South 24 Parganas and Hooghly, has many big fights in store with Mamata Banerjee fighting the joint efforts of the Left and the Congress, as the BJP keeps chasing closely at her feet.

Besides Mamata’s home seat of Bhawanipore, other prominent seats in south Kolkata include Rashbehari, Ballygunge and Kolkata Port, Jadavpur and Kasba from Kolkata’s southern fringes and Metiabruz in the west. Singur at Hooghly, which paved the path for Mamata’s rise to state power, will also see polling on the same day.

At a time when 349 candidates across 53 seats going to polls were busy putting finishing touches to their campaign, the EC was tightening its grip over the polling areas to prevent movement of arms and miscreants. While central forces personnel have been deployed to conduct night vigils at ‘sensitive’ areas besides imposing Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code, the poll panel has also increased the number of central police observers in these areas for April 30. Around 700 companies or nearly 70,000 central forces personnel will be deployed for the polls.

“Looking at the sensitivity of some of the constituencies going to polls on Saturday, we’ve started night patrolling. We’ve also ensured that central forces will be deployed only on the orders of central police observers, who are senior IPS officers from other states.,” an EC official said.