Kaliganj bypolls in Bengal: 20 companies of CAPF to be deployed

Kolkata, May 26 (IANS) A total of 20 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) will be deployed for the bypolls to the Kaliganj Assembly constituency in Nadia district of West Bengal, one of the five Assembly constituencies in three Indian states, which would be going for bye-elections on June 19.

An insider from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal said that the deployment of the CAPF companies is expected to be completed by next week.

"This time the Election Commission of India has decided for early deployment of the CAPF so that the personnel deployed there can start the area domination process at the earliest and hence get a totally clear idea of the area, especially the location of the electoral booths, by the date of the polls,” the CEO office insider said.

The counting for the bypolls will be held on June 23.

Bypolls for the Kaliganj Assembly constituency in West Bengal were necessitated following the sudden demise of Trinamool Congress legislator Nasiruddin Ahmed in February this year at the age of 70. Since then the chair of the legislator had been lying vacant.

Ahmed got elected for the first time from Kaliganj in the 2011 West Bengal elections, which marked the end of the 34-year Left Front rule in the state and the beginning of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress regime's rule.

However, he was defeated by the Congress' H Seikh in the 2016 elections.

After being out of power for five years, Ahmed again got elected in the 2021 Assembly polls.

Earlier this month on May 9, the final electoral list for Kaliganj was published. The final list featured a decrease of over 2,000 voters from the number in the 2021 Assembly polls.

The final voters' list was announced following a special summary revision by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal.

As per the final electoral list, the total number of voters in Kaliganj stands at 2,52,670 till date.

--IANS

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