Election Commission full bench to visit West Bengal to check poll preparedness

Kolkata: With barely months left for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the full bench of Election Commission (EC) will visit West Bengal to check the poll preparedness. The bench, on a two-day visit, will arrive in Kolkata on January 30. The EC bench will hold meetings on January 31 and February 1.

On Day 1 of the visit, the Election Commission officials will hold a meeting with all the political parties in the state. The second meeting will be held with all the district Superintend of Police, District Magistrate and DEOs. The third meeting will be held with the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) and nodal officers from the Bengal Police.

On Day 2, the Election Commission will hold meetings with the Excise department, IT department and transport department. Later in the day, the commission will hold a meeting with the West Bengal Chief Secretary and Director General of West Bengal Police. 

Interestingly, the commission issued a notification a week ago, asking the state governments to transfer those officers related to election purpose who have been serving more than three years in the post. The commission also asked the state to ensure that officers are not posted in their home districts.

"The West Bengal government has already taken cognisance of the notification issued by the Election Commission and have started posting the officers as per the notification," said a Bengal government official.