West Bengal election: EC orders 3-day surveillance of TMC's Anubrata Mondal for fair polls

In an embarrassment for TMC, the EC asked the West Bengal CEO to keep its Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal under strict surveillance for ensuring free and fair polls. The Executive Magistrate and the Central Armed Police Forces have been tasked for this purpose from 5 pm on April 27 to 7 am on April 30. While a similar order course of action was adopted during the 2016 Assembly elections as well as the 2019 General Elections, this latest development assumes significance as 11 constituencies in Birbhum will go to the polls in the final phase of the West Bengal election. 

The EC stated, "Videography to be arranged with date time stamping. The team constituted for this purpose should be comprised of CAPF personnel under a local magistrate. Kindly ensure compliance and confirm actions taken."

Incidentally, Mondal did not appear before the CBI earlier in the day in connection with the cross-border cattle smuggling case. WB CM Mamata Banerjee reportedly told him to inform the central agency that he would be able to visit its office only after the end of the polling process. Addressing a meeting of party workers and candidates in Kolkata, the TMC supremo opined that such "harassment" shouldn't be permitted. 

West Bengal Assembly polls

Mamata Banerjee-led TMC had swept the 2016 Assembly polls by bagging 211 seats in the 294-member Assembly. In West Bengal, 294 seats are up for grabs and people will be able to cast their votes at 1,01,916 polling stations. Buoyed by its stupendous 2019 Lok Sabha performance, BJP is looking to oust TMC and is aiming at winning over 200 seats this time. While Congress was the second-largest party in 2016, it has tied with the Left and the ISF to form the Sanjukta Morcha. 

The voter turnout for the seats that went to the polls in the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh phases was 84.63 per cent, 86.11 per cent, 84.61 per cent, 79.90 per cent, 82.49 per cent, 79.11 per cent and 76.90 per cent respectively. The polling for the last phase will be held on April 29. The election results will be declared on May 2.