West Bengal likely to get 2,400 CAPF companies in phased deployment

About 2400 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) are likely to be deployed in West Bengal for the upcoming Assembly election.

The Chief Electoral Office (CEO) of West Bengal has set up a joint committee to oversee the deployment based on the assessments of vulnerability and sensitivity across polling areas. The committee held a meeting on Saturday (March 21, 2026) at the CEO’s office to decide on the number of personnel required in each Assembly constituency. 

Since Saturday (March 21) morning, Police Commissioners and Superintendents of Police have started visiting local police stations across the State to take stock of the ground situation. 

About 480 companies of central forces have already been deployed by March 10, with personnel already holding flag marches in several areas. The remaining 1,920 companies will be brought in five phases — March 31, April 7, 10, 13 and 17. According to sources, special trains are being arranged to facilitate their movement to the State.

Political observers view the massive deployment as an unprecedented move, even though the Election Commission of India (ECI) has decided to hold elections in just two phases. The 2021 Assembly election was held in eight phases and the ECI deployed 1,071 companies.

The CAPF will include personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Border Security Force (BSF), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the Seema Suraksha Bal (SSB), and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). 

The forces will be tasked with area securing, confidence building, and patrolling. They will also be responsible for the security of EVMs, strong rooms, and counting centres. Personnel already deployed are conducting regular route marches across the State, accompanied by local police 

The ECI has also decided to retain about 700 companies of CAPF even after the second phase of polling to prevent any post-poll violence. West Bengal has a history of political violence. During the 2021 Assembly polls, CAPF personnel opened fire on a mob in Cooch Behar, killing five people on the day of polling. Post-poll violence raged across the State and supporters of Opposition parties, particularly the BJP, were targeted.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has criticised the heavy deployment of central forces during this time. “Who will feed them? There is already a shortage of LPG cylinders. Where will we keep lakhs of central force personnel and so many observers? Who will pay for their hotels?” she asked on Friday (March 20).

Ms. Banerjee also raised concerns about the cooking gas shortage, alleging that the gas meant for common people of the State will be used by the central forces. She also said academic activities are disrupted when schools are used to accommodate personnel. 

The State will go to the polls in two phases on April 23 and 29, and the counting will take place on March 4. More than 60 lakh people are still under adjudication, according to the CEO’s office sources. Around 25 lakh cases have been disposed of and a supplementary list of the electorate is likely to be published on Monday (March 23).