National Desk, 15th February: The Election Commission (EC) has formally requested the Ministry of Home Affairs to allocate 3,400 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), totaling 3.4 lakh paramilitary personnel, for phased deployment during the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and Assembly polls in several states.
This request, communicated on February 13, also included an appeal to the Chairman of the Railway Board for sufficient rolling stocks equipped with necessary facilities to facilitate the mobilization and movement of forces for election duties.
According to the communication, the deployment plan entails assigning up to 920 companies of CAPFs in West Bengal, followed by 635 companies in Jammu and Kashmir, 360 companies in Chhattisgarh, 295 companies in Bihar, and 252 companies in Uttar Pradesh. Additionally, 250 companies each are earmarked for deployment in Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Punjab.
Several other states, including Gujarat, Manipur, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Assam, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Tripura, are also expected to witness significant deployment of CAPFs to ensure peaceful conduct of elections.