The state election commission has so far identified 189 "sensitive" booths out of 61,636 ahead of the July 8 rural polls, the unusually low number raising questions on whether the poll panel deployed the right parameters to earmark them.

Multiple sources in the civil and police administration termed the figure "absurd" given the ground realities since the filing of nominations started on June 9.

“The figure is absurd as reports of trouble came in from most districts as soon as nominations started. At least seven persons were killed," said a senior bureaucrat.

Bureaucrats said some parameters like the history of violence and excessive voting (over 75 per cent) in favour of a party in past elections and recent troubles like clashes during nominations are taken into account while mapping sensitive booths.

These parameters are followed across the country in all elections.

"But the number of sensitive booths here suggests none of these parameters was considered this time,” said a source.

A source in the poll panel said they gave the figure of sensitive booths in the Supreme Court during the hearing and the figure was drawn up based on reports sent by the district magistrates on Saturday.

“These are preliminary figures and are set to increase with the date of polls drawing nearer.... It's a continuous process,” said the poll panel official.

A poll panel official spoke about the possibility of an erroneous identification process.

“Earlier, situations in each of the booths were considered. But this time they were asked to identify sensitive areas first and then sensitive booths in the sensitive area. As this is a new process, districts perhaps ignored the booths that don’t fall in sensitive areas,” said the official.

Senior government officials, who had handled rural polls earlier as district magistrates, however, did not buy the argument.

“If this was the case, Bhangar-I and II are the two blocks that saw the maximum number of violent incidents. These two blocks have more than 300 booths and at least 70 to 75 per cent booths are sensitive in these areas alone. That’s why the figure (189 across Bengal) sounds absurd,” said an official.

Some officials who handled rural polls as district magistrates in 2018 said that at least 20 per cent of the total booths in their districts were identified as sensitive then.

“How can the poll panel say only 189 booths are sensitive across the state when more than 12,000 booths were declared sensitive last time (in 2018)?” asked one.

Some officials said the district magistrates were perhaps under pressure.

“More central forces will be required if more booths are called sensitive. The state was against the deployment of central forces from the start," said a source.

The BJP mocked the number. “This is the most insensitive act by the poll panel. We want sensitive booths mapped according to Election Commission of India parameters. If the state poll panel does not follow the parameters, we will be forced to move court again,” said Jagannath Chattopadhyay of the BJP.

Central forces

The state election commission has asked the state government to send a requisition of one company of central forces for each district to the home ministry after the Supreme Court rejected the state’s SLP on Tuesday. This means the state will seek 22 companies of central forces. The Opposition said 22 companies were inadequate for the single-phase polls across Bengal.