Bengal government prefers state police over central forces for panchayat polls

The West Bengal state government is requesting personnel from other state police forces to oversee the forthcoming panchayat polls, instead of central armed forces as demanded by opposition parties. The government is expected to outline plans to use existing state armed police first, before including officers from other state forces, mainly from neighbouring regions such as Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand. The state election commission has reportedly already banned motorcycle rallies as part of the campaign and directed district police superintendents to identify sensitive polling booths.
However, the Leader of Opposition has alleged that the state government is planning to deploy civic volunteers to pose as policemen during the polls, particularly in sensitive districts. The civic volunteers would wear uniforms resembling the police. The opposition believes volunteers would be interchanged between districts to avoid identification, allegedly in constituencies including Jalpaiguri, East Midnapore, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas and Birbhum. The government has yet to respond to the claims.