CEO seeks extra general observers for last phase in WB

The Election Commission has been requested by the CEO of West Bengal that one additional general observer be provided as a confidence building measure for each of the 17 Lok Sabha constituencies which would go to polls in the last phase on May 12.
"CEO Sunil Gupta has sent a request to the EC for additional 17 general observers along with the existing 17 for the final phase of polls," EC's Special Observer for West Bengal Sudhir Kr Rakesh said.
"This is more in the nature of a confidence building measure in the 17 constituencies, in addition to area domination by central para-military force (CPF) personnel," Rakesh told reporters here today.

If the EC approved the CEO's request, which would depend on availability of resources, then each constituency would have two general observers and one expenditure observer. In addition to that, there would one police observer for every three constituencies.
Rakesh said the CPF personnel would be deployed at all the hyper-critical booths, while non-CPF booths would have state police along with other measures like web casting, videography, micro-observers and digital cameras.
For the first time, each and every measure taken by the poll officials would be documented.

Assuring free and fair polls in the last phase, Rakesh said the worry list provided by the candidates and political parties had been addressed to the maximum extent possible.

In the 17 constituencies, 84 candidates of registered political parties are contesting. The number of total voters are 2.55 crore, out of which 1.22 crore are women. The number of polling booths were 32,000.
Meanwhile, the EC ordered re-polling in a booth at Bankura's Sonamukhi Assembly constituency which would take place tomorrow.