EC to review poll preparedness in W Bengal from Apr 5

The full bench of the Election Commission (EC) led by Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath will pay a two-visit to West Bengal from April five to review preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections beginning here from April 17.
Sampath will be accompanied by two Election Commissioners H S Brahma and Syed Nasim Ahmed Zaidi, OSD in the CEO's office Amit Roy Chowdhury said here today. The state will go to polls in five phases.
The EC would hold a meeting with the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sunil Gupta and his officials on April 5.
Next day, the CEC and other two Commissioners would hold meetings with national and state recognised political parties separately, listen to their complaints and might settle some complaints lodged earlier, sources said.

In another meeting, the full bench would meet the District Electoral Officers, Returning Officers, Superintendents of Police and other senior officials.
This would be followed by a meeting with the state's Chief Secretary Sanjay Mitra, Home Secretary Basudev Banerjee, DGP G M P Reddy and City Police Commissioner Surojit Kar Purokayastha and IGP (Law and Order) Anuj Sharma, the sources said.

Sampath accompanied by his two ECs would return to Delhi on April 6 after holding a press conference.
Meanwhile, the Commission has completed printing of tenders and postal ballots for the first phase of poll on April 17. All these ballots meant for services personnel and polling personnel on duty have already been dispatched.

All general and expenditure observers have already started reaching here for the first phase polls, while nearly 36,000 polling personnel required for the phase were getting ready for their duties, Roy Chowdhury said.
Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat was likely to get two counting centres - one for the hills and another for the plains. Number of general observers for this constituency would also be two instead of one in other cases, he said.
Nearly 25 per cent polling stations going to polls in the first phase were sensitive and hyper-sensitive in nature.
For the second phase poll in the state on April 24, 14 nominations have so far been filed, while the last date of filing nominations is April 5.