Kolkata, March 17 – The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Tuesday the appointment of 557 general observers, 188 police observers, and 366 expenditure observers for the upcoming elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry, along with by-elections for eight Assembly constituencies in six states.
West Bengal is the only state that will have the maximum deployment of general observers, and it is the only state to have one general observer for each of the 294 Assembly constituencies in the state.
In the case of Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry, the number of general observers will be less than the respective number of assembly constituencies.
West Bengal will also have the maximum number of police observers, at 84, followed by 40 in Tamil Nadu, 35 in Assam, 17 in Kerala, and four in Puducherry. In the case of expenditure observers, Tamil Nadu will have the maximum deployment at 151, followed by West Bengal at 100.
The Commission has directed that the observers be stationed in their respective Assembly Constituencies by March 18.
"Upon arrival, the observers will make their contact details public and will specify a time for meeting candidates, political parties, or their representatives, or any member of the public, to hear their election-related grievances," the notification issued by the ECI on Tuesday read.
The Commission appoints Central Observers under the powers conferred on it by Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 20B of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, to assist the Commission in conducting free and fair elections. They also oversee the efficient and effective management of the electoral process at the field level, the statement added.
Elections in West Bengal will be conducted in two phases on April 23 and April 29.
In the first phase of polls on April 23, there will be polling for 152 Assembly constituencies, while in the second phase on April 29, there will be polling for 142 Assembly constituencies. According to the ECI's current calculations, at least 2,300 companies of CAPF will be deployed in each phase.