Kolkata, 17 April (H.S.) : The Election Commission of India on Friday reduced the number of counting centres to 87 for the upcoming two-phase West Bengal Assembly elections scheduled later this month.

The number of counting centres stood at 90 during the 2016 Assembly elections and was increased to 108 in 2021. According to the latest notification issued by the Commission, the number has now been brought down to 87.

Among the 87 counting centres, the highest number of 12 will be in South 24 Parganas, followed by eight in North 24 Parganas and six in Hooghly. Kalimpong, Alipurduar and Jhargram will have one counting centre each, the lowest in the state.

Polling in West Bengal will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29. Counting of votes will take place on May 4, with results to be declared the same day.

Meanwhile, the Commission said that by 9 p.m. on Tuesday, a total of 1,838,572 cases of property defacement had been removed across the state. Of these, 1,580,892 cases were related to public properties, while the remaining 225,170 involved private properties.

The Commission said an extensive drive was underway to remove unauthorised political advertisements. According to the latest reports, defacement from both public and private properties has been cleared in all districts. District Election Officers have also certified removal of defacement from all public properties under their jurisdiction.

In another statement, the Commission said seizures worth Rs 427 crore had been made in West Bengal so far during the enforcement drive. This includes Rs 21 crore in cash, Rs 81 crore worth of liquor, Rs 100 crore in drugs and narcotics, Rs 54 crore in precious metals, and Rs 172 crore in freebies and other items.

The Commission said these seizures were made possible through the action of 2,728 Flying Squad Teams and 3,142 Static Surveillance Teams deployed across the state.

It also directed enforcement agencies to ensure that ordinary citizens are not inconvenienced or harassed during inspections and checks. District Grievance Committees have been constituted to address complaints in this regard.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh