Kolkata, March 12 (IANS) On the insistence of the Election Commission of India (ECI), the West Bengal government has now provided state government officers with the requisite seniority for appointment as returning officers (ROs) for the forthcoming Assembly elections in the state scheduled later this year, the Commission said on Thursday afternoon.

Based on a list provided by the state government, the ECI on Thursday issued the notification for the appointment of ROs and communicated the same to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal.

In its communication to the CEO, West Bengal, the ECI directed that the list of ROs for all the 294 Assembly constituencies in the state be published in an extraordinary issue of the State Government Gazette, after a thorough verification of the entries made in the table appended to the notification.

“The copy of the gazette containing the said notification may be forwarded to the Commission soon after its publication,” the ECI said in its communication to the CEO, West Bengal.

Meanwhile, the ECI is keeping a close watch on the law and order situation in West Bengal, even before the Assembly election schedule is announced.

With this in mind, the office of the CEO, West Bengal, held another meeting with the state police administration and law enforcement agencies on Thursday.

An official from the CEO’s office said the first round of meetings was held from 10.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. on Thursday. The second round of meetings will be held on Friday from 4.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m.

During the second round, the CEO’s office will hold a virtual conference with 25 enforcement agencies in the state.

The ECI has already decided that in the Assembly elections this year, the district administration will not determine the movement of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in order to ensure their optimal deployment.

Until the previous elections, District Magistrates, who also function as District Electoral Officers, were authorised to determine the movement of CAPF before, during or after the polls while the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) was in force.

However, this time the Commission has decided that ECI-appointed police observers will determine CAPF movement in the respective districts.

At the same time, sources in the CEO’s office said district-specific composite teams would be formed to assess pocket-wise requirements for CAPF deployment, and the decisions of the police observers in this regard would be final.

–IANS

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