BJP urges Election Commission to deploy only paramilitary force during Bengal polls

A delegation of West Bengal Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) leaders on Friday submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission of India demanding that Assembly elections in the state should be held in many phases and also requested it to deploy only paramilitary force at polling booths to give all parties a level playing field.

The delegation comprising eight members including BJP general secretary Bhupender Yadav also demanded the removal of officers working at the "behest of Trinamool Congress".

"We met the Election Commission of India and submitted a memorandum. We put forth three demands in front of them. First, the Bengal Assembly polls should be held in many phases. The officers working at the behest of TMC should be changed and paramilitary force must be deployed at polling booths to give all parties a level-playing field," Yadav told reporters here after meeting the ECI officials.

"It was really important to bring these issues in the knowledge of the ECI because the misuse of state machinery is rampant by the state government," he added.

In a letter to the Election Commission, the BJP leaders requested to "deploy members of only Central Police Forces (CPF), duly trained to ensure fairness, dignity, and sanctity of the process."

Elections for 294 Assembly seats in West Bengal will take place later this year. The tenure of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal will come to an end on May 30, 2020.

( With inputs from ANI )