The Election Commission has decided to deploy 27 companies of central forces for the upcoming October 30 bypolls in four Assembly segments in Bengal, poll panel sources said on Saturday.

The commission has scheduled bypolls for the Dinhata, Santipur, Gosaba and Khardah constituencies on October 30. “Central forces will start reaching the state by next week, October 13 in all probability,” the EC source said.

The 27 companies will have eight companies of the CRPF, nine companies of the BSF and five companies each of the CISF and the SSB.

The poll panel had deployed 52 companies of central forces for the three September 30 elections, including the Bhowanipore seat, which elected chief minister Mamata Banerjee as a legislator.

Many officers at the chief electoral office of Bengal said that to conduct peaceful polls on October 30 would be a challenge for them. For instance, they cited multiple post-poll atrocities that were reported from Dinhata since this summer. That’s why the EC is extra cautious about this seat, a source from the chief electoral office said.