Kolkata, May 4 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Agarwal on Monday said that the Election Commission of India (ECI) had taken all necessary steps to ensure that polling in the state was conducted in a “free and fair” manner while maintaining law and order throughout the electoral process.

Addressing reporters, Agarwal said, “We made all efforts for this election to be free and fair and for maintaining law and order during the voting. We urged the people to take this election as a festival of democracy.”

Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress has indicated that it will seek a recount in constituencies where the margin of victory is less than 1,000 votes.

Responding to queries on recounting, Agarwal clarified that the process is strictly governed by established rules.

“The procedure for recounting is fixed. If any seat comes under that criterion, only then will there definitely be a recount. The political parties don’t need to tell us anything. Our ROs know the procedure, and it will be followed 100 per cent,” he said.

Early counting trends after the first four hours on Monday showed the Bharatiya Janata Party leading in a significantly higher number of constituencies compared to the ruling Trinamool Congress in the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections.

As per data available on the Election Commission website till noon, trends for 261 out of the 293 Assembly constituencies had been recorded. Of these, BJP candidates were ahead in 173 constituencies, while the Trinamool Congress was leading in 85 seats.

The Left Front–All India Secular Front alliance was ahead in one constituency, and the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP), founded by former Trinamool Congress MLA Humayun Kabir, was also leading in one seat.

Earlier in the day, Agarwal announced that the winning party will be able to take out a victory procession in the districts only after seeking prior permission from the district magistrate and the district electoral officer.

“At the same time, I appeal to all political parties to maintain restraint after the final results are declared officially. In a democratic process, some parties will win, and some parties will lose. But that victory or defeat should not result in violence,” Agarwal said.

This time, the ECI has decided to retain 700 companies of central forces in West Bengal for an indefinite period till further orders to prevent events of post-poll violence, as it happened in 2021.

The repolling in the entire Assembly constituency at Falta in South 24 Parganas district will be on May 21, and the results will be announced on May 24.

–IANS

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