Security protocols and surveillance measures have been massively beefed up ahead of the repoll in Falta Assembly constituency of West Bengal, set to take place on Thursday, May 21. These sweeping measures are a result of the historic countermanding of the April 29 polls, citing multiple allegations of EVM tampering and sabotage.

To restore the integrity of the voting process, the poll panel has revamped the security framework of its operations. In an exclusive revelation on Wednesday, a senior official from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said that a complete section of eight CAPF personnel would be posted at each polling booth in the constituency.

The move reflects a 100% boost compared to the original polling day, where only four personnel per booth were deployed.

With 285 polling stations spread throughout the Falta constituency, the ECI has made arrangements to deploy close to 35 companies of central paramilitary forces—a massive boost to last month’s numbers.

Additionally, a fleet of 30 Quick Response Teams (QRTs) would be kept on standby at strategic locations. “Our objective is total dominance,” a senior election official said. “We have engineered this grid to ensure immediate tactical intervention the moment even minor unrest is detected.”

Deploying triple-camera live webcasting and drone fleets for absolute surveillance

As part of the measures to safeguard the elections from any form of physical or digital manipulation, the ECI has transformed Falta into a complete surveillance area. For the first time in the history of recent elections in the region, triple-camera webcasting will be in place at every booth:

Inside the booth: Two webcams will broadcast the polling process within the voting booth and the table of polling officers.

Outside the booth: A single high-definition camera will cover the queue and immediate periphery.

The webcast will be beamed directly into two monitoring rooms created at the headquarters of the District Election Officer (DEO) and CEO in Kolkata. The ECI is also making preparations to launch fleets of drones to monitor vulnerable pockets and village clusters surrounding the booths. Three senior election observers have been tasked with micromanaging the proceedings of the day.

Pre-election crackdown: Arrest of local TMC strongman

Ground-level enforcement operations carried out by the West Bengal Police include intensive area domination and pre-poll crackdown exercises. According to law enforcement sources, several high-profile arrests were made over the past 24 hours, targeting local intimidation networks.

One such arrest includes Saidul Khan, vice chairman of the Falta Panchayat Samiti, who is said to have engaged in the intimidation of voters in connection with the countermanded elections held on April 29.

TMC candidate pulls out safely before polling starts

A surprising twist of fate for the Falta electorate occurred on Tuesday when the incumbent Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate, Jahangir Khan, decided to withdraw from the polls altogether.

While opposition parties claimed the pull-out was a result of the crackdown against the booth-capturing network, TMC leaders distanced themselves from the controversy, categorising the move as a strictly personal decision and not reflective of party policy.

Debangshu Panda, BJP candidate, continues his run, turning the repoll into an unusual political contest.

The April 29 sabotage: Adhesive tapes, perfumes, and blinded webcams

The groundbreaking move to scrap the existing vote was made after a scathing report on what happened during April 29. Numerous complaints were lodged against the use of perfumes and sticky adhesive tapes on the buttons of EVMs with the aim of confusing voters and making the voting process difficult.

After conducting an extensive investigation into the matter, Subrata Gupta, a Special Observer, established that tampering was rampant, having occurred in more than 60 booths. More frightening was the fact that investigators uncovered malicious attempts to disrupt the webcams used to broadcast the vote live by blinding them, tilting them, and cutting off power supply to them.

This left the ECI with no other option but to erase everything and order for an outright repolling of the entire constituency.