Election Commission seeks 3.4 Lakh CAPF personnel for deployment in Lok Sabha polls and Assembly elections in 4 states
The EC said that the CAPF personnel thus deployed will be distributed and retained at different intervals depending on the scale and schedule.
New Delhi: The Election Commission (EC) has sought 3.4 lakh Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) personnel for a phased deployment during the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim.
The poll panel has also sought adequate rolling stock with all appropriate facilities on the trains, ensuring hassle-free mobilization and timely movement of armed forces to carry out election duties.
In a communication to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the EC said that the chief election officials of all states and Union Territories have requested deployment of CAPFs for poll-related functions such as area domination and confidence-building measures. , duties related to election days, monitoring of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and vault centers, security of counting centers etc. during elections.
The committee has considered the requests of the state CEOs and decided to deploy up to about 3,400 CAPF companies in all states and Union Territories in phases to ensure free, fair and peaceful elections, the notice said.
A CAPF company has approximately 100 employees.
Up to 920 CAPF companies are expected to be deployed in West Bengal in a phased manner, followed by 635 companies in Jammu and Kashmir, 360 companies in Chhattisgarh, 295 companies in Bihar, 252 companies in Uttar Pradesh and 250 companies each in Andhra. Pradesh, Jharkhand and Punjab.
The CAPFs are the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and the National Security Guard (NSG).
The combined strength of all CAPFs is approximately 10 lakh.
The other states where a significant number of CAPF personnel are likely to be deployed are: 200 companies each in Gujarat, Manipur, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, 175 companies in Odisha, 160 companies each in Assam and Telangana, 150 in Maharashtra, 113 in Madhya. Pradesh and 100 in Tripura.
The EC said that the CAPF personnel thus deployed will be distributed and retained at different intervals depending on the scale and schedule.
Further, the poll panel said that the said number of CAPF companies is the maximum mobilization of CAPF personnel that can be deployed and retained in a particular state or Union Territory at a particular stage of an election.
The EC said the MHA should take necessary action and issue directions to all concerned to ensure smooth and timely induction and de-induction of the armed forces at an appropriate time.
In a separate communication to the Railway Board, the committee said the Indian Railways has an important role to play in the induction and de-induction of the armed forces during the polls.
The poll body, however, said several issues have been raised by the MHA and CAPFs regarding inconvenience to the security forces during their mobilization in the 2022 and 2023 elections.
The railway ministry has already been asked to address concerns to prevent recurrence of such incidents during the train journeys of the security personnel, the ministry said.
However, the issue of rolling stock availability arose again during the November-December 2023 elections, resulting in a delay in the movement of armed forces.
Keeping this in mind, the Railway Board has been asked to appoint nodal officers at the headquarters and zone levels for smooth coordination during the election process and share the list of such officers along with their contact details with the EC and the CAPFs. ' nodal officers in advance.
The committee has asked the Railway Board to ensure availability of rolling stock for movement of the CAPFs, make provision for adequate number of coaches in the trains for hassle-free travel of the troops (approximately 24 coaches are available in each train). ), provide comfortable seating and rest facilities for staff, especially on longer journeys, and provide essential amenities such as electricity, water, fans, air conditioning, etc. for train journeys in the summer months.