The Election Commission of India, which initially deployed 89 companies of central forces for the November 13 bypolls in six Assembly constituencies in Bengal, has decided to deploy 19 more companies, bringing the total to 108.

Sources in the chief electoral officer (CEO)'s office said the decision to deploy additional forces followed the commission’s vulnerability mapping of all the six constituencies, where nearly 1,100 of a total of 1,583 booths were identified as sensitive.

With the addition of these forces, the average number of paramilitary personnel will increase from 5.6 to 6.8 per booth, along with extra five companies assigned to guard the strong rooms.

“The commission decided to deploy central forces in all booths and for that, these additional forces were requisitioned. We are negotiating with the commission and if possible, we will deploy more forces to make the election peaceful,” a senior official in the CEO’s office said.

The initial deployment of 89 companies comprised 30 of the Border Security Force (BSF), 24 of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), 13 of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), 12 of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), and 10 of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), with additional forces consisting of five CRPF companies, 10 BSF companies, and two each from CISF and ITBP.

According to the commission's deployment plan, central forces will primarily guard the inner perimeter around polling stations, while the outer perimeter will be managed by the state police; central forces will also be part of Quick Response Teams (QRT) and the High-Flying Radio Squad alongside district police.

Bypolls for six Assembly seats in Bengal — Sitai (SC), Madarihat (ST), Naihati, Haroa, Medinipur and Taldangra — are scheduled for November 13, with results on November 23. In the 2021 Assembly elections,the Trinamool Congress won five of these seats with the BJP winning Madarihat in Alipurduar.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the commission deployed 1,020 companies of central forces in Bengal.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that the extensive deployment was a central government strategy to take control of Bengal, while Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari had alleged that the central forces couldn’t function independently because they were controlled by the state police, allowing the Trinamool to influence the voting process.