Kolkata: Election commissioner assured 'fair polls', says governor

This is the second meeting between Saurav Das, the state election commissioner, and Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar in the past ten days

West Bengal state election commissioner, once again, called on Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday, to update him on Kolkata civic polls, scheduled for December 19.

This is the second visit by Saurav Das, the state election commissioner, in the past ten days, the latest being on November 23, after which the commission had announced the date for the election.

The governor’s official Twitter handle stated that the state election commissioner “assured that all steps for fair, impartial and free elections will be diligently taken”. Further, the commissioner would also revert by Saturday on the issue of deployment of central armed police forces (CAPF).

The state BJP, on Tuesday, in a letter written to the governor, had demanded the deployment of the CAPF for the forthcoming municipal elections. “Free and fair elections will not be possible without deployment of the Central Force,” the party stated, citing “unprecedented post-poll violence after the recently concluded Vidhan Sabha elections wherein more than 50 karyakartas of Bharatiya Janata Party were murdered and many more injured.”

Also Read — Cong-Left split may benefit TMC in Kolkata local polls, say political watchers

After the November 23 meeting, the governor had “cautioned” the commissioner that “SEC @MamataOfficial toeing line of State Government and be merely its executing agency, would be an outrage of Constitution as also unwholesome for democratic process”.

Besides the consistent watch by the Raj Bhavan, Kolkata, the State Election Commission is also being frequented by delegations of the political parties. The state BJP has also called upon the commission to deploy central forces during the upcoming elections.

Meanwhile, candidates in the fray have commenced their campaigns, after the Trinamool, the BJP, the Left front, and the Congress declared their lists. While the Trinamool holds the majority of seats in Kolkata Municipal Corporation, a decision to contest separately by the Congress and the Left has left analysts speculating if this could benefit the Trinamool further.

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