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The Election Commission will take a tough stand on post-poll violence. The provision of troops has been made on the basis of assessments provided by states and central observers. The Commission’s decision comes at a time when the seven-phase election ended on Saturday evening.
After voting in the elections, the Election Commission has now made full preparations for the counting of votes. The Election Commission has made heavy security arrangements during and after the counting of votes in the two states which have been in the news for election-related violence. After the counting of votes on Tuesday, central forces will be deployed in Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal for the next 15 days. Security forces have been provided to Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh for two days after the counting of votes.
Commission sources said that the Election Commission will take a tough stand on post-poll violence. The provision of soldiers has been made on the basis of assessment provided by the states and central observers. This decision of the Commission has come at a time when the seven-phase election ended on Saturday evening. During this time too, news of violence in Bengal has been in the headlines.
In South 24 Parganas district, angry mobs barged into polling booths, seized an EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) and threw it into a nearby pond after some polling agents were allegedly prevented from entering polling booths. Clashes were reported from Kolkata to Bhavnagar’s Patulia area in Jadavpur constituency. Several people were injured in clashes between the Indian Secular Front (ISF) and the CPI (M). Incidents of violence were also reported in Sandeshkhali under Basirhat Lok Sabha constituency. This has been an issue for the BJP in this election after allegations of sexual assault against a local Trinamool leader. Clashes between TMC and BJP supporters were reported in Diamond Harbour, the stronghold of TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
Clashes between workers of Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party and the ruling YSR Congress dominated headlines during the second phase of polling in Andhra Pradesh in May. With exit polls predicting a lead for the BJP and the NDA in both states, maintaining peace may be difficult.
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