At 478, EC appoints max observers for Bengal among poll-bound states

KOLKATA: The Election Commission has appointed the maximum number of observers for Bengal among the four poll-bound states and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

The 478 observers — across general, police and expenditure categories — would be stationed in their respective assembly constituencies by Wednesday, an EC notification said.




For the forthcoming Bengal assembly elections, the commission has deployed one general observer for each constituency. The number of police observers has also been increased. Typically, one police observer is appointed per police district or commissionerate, but this time the number has been more than doubled. The EC has also increased the number of expenditure observers tasked with monitoring election spending. The notification listed 294 general observers, 84 police observers and 100 expenditure observers to be stationed across Bengal. Upon arrival, all appointed observers will make their contact details public so that anyone can reach out to them if needed. The observers will monitor whether the elections are being conducted in a free, fair and peaceful manner.

Earlier, the EC had appointed 22 observers for the SIR exercise. In total, nearly 1,111 observers are being deployed across the four states and one Union Territory.