Earlier, a repoll depended entirely on what happened inside the polling station. The EC conveyed the directive during a meeting with senior officers of Bengal Police and Kolkata Police on Wednesday afternoon. The incident had raised questions about why Kolkata Police did not engage central forces to contain the situation. Bengal’s new director-general of police, Siddh Nath Gupta, on Wednesday held his first virtual meeting with district chiefs, commissioners and senior officers. Central forces may be deployed if required to maintain law and order,” a district superintendent of police said.

Source: The Telegraph March 19, 2026 01:58 UTC