Kolkata, 22 April (H.S.): The Election Commission is set to bring an international delegation to West Bengal to assess the polling situation during the ongoing Assembly elections. According to Commission sources, the delegation will arrive in the state a day before the first phase of polling. On Thursday, the team will inspect the voting process and security arrangements. It is also learnt that the delegation will be taken to Tamil Nadu as part of its visit.

Meanwhile, the Commission has announced the deployment of 2,321 companies of central forces for the second phase of Assembly elections scheduled on April 29. As per a notification issued on Tuesday, the highest number—507 companies—will be deployed in North 24 Parganas district.

For the first phase, a total of 2,407 companies of central forces have already been deployed. Murshidabad district has received the highest deployment with 316 companies, of which 240 are stationed in Murshidabad police district and 76 in the Jangipur area.

In North 24 Parganas, 112 companies will be deployed in Barasat police district, 62 in Bangaon, 123 in Basirhat, 50 in Bidhannagar, and 160 in Barrackpore. In South 24 Parganas, 113 companies will be stationed in Sundarbans, 161 in Baruipur, and 135 in Diamond Harbour.

In Howrah district, 147 companies will be deployed in rural areas and 110 in the Howrah Police Commissionerate. In Nadia, 158 companies will be stationed in Krishnanagar police district and 127 in Ranaghat.

In Hooghly district, 83 companies will be deployed in Chandannagar Police Commissionerate and 234 in rural Hooghly. In Purba Bardhaman, which has a total of 4,465 polling stations, 260 companies will be deployed.

In Paschim Bardhaman, 13 companies will be deployed in the Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate area, covering 195 polling stations. In Kolkata, the state capital, 273 companies of central forces will be deployed to secure 5,172 polling stations.

The Commission stated that each company of central forces will consist of at least 72 personnel. The Union Home Ministry has already issued guidelines in this regard.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey