The West Bengal Police has arrested 1,543 persons, including a Trinamool Congress councillor in the state, ahead of the second phase of the Assembly elections, PTI quoted an unidentified official as saying on Monday.
The action was taken to prevent any attempt to disturb the poll atmosphere, the official added.
The first phase of polling was held on April 23. The second phase will be conducted on Wednesday and the votes will be counted on May 4.
The police and the administration are reporting to the Election Commission as the Model Code of Conduct is in force in the state.
Intensified search operations and checks were carried out between Sunday and Monday, The Times of India reported.
Naru Gopal Bhakat, the Trinamool Congress councillor from Ward 22 of the Bardhaman municipality in Purba Bardhaman district, was arrested on charges of intimidation and for allegedly being involved in an attack on a Bharatiya Janata Party leader’s home.
A complaint was also filed against him with the Election Commission, PTI reported.
However, Bhakat denied the charges.
Of the total, 479 arrests were made in Purba Bardhaman, 319 in North 24 Parganas, 246 in South 24 Parganas, 109 in North Kolkata, 49 in Hooghly, and 32 each in Nadia and Howrah, The Times of India reported.
The arrests come days after the Calcutta High Court on April 22 stayed an order issued by Election Commission officials to the police in West Bengal to take preventive action against “troublemakers” ahead of the Assembly elections.
The police observer in the office of the chief election officer had “erred in issuing a blanket direction by treating certain citizens as troublemakers”, said a bench of Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen.
The judges stayed the order till June 30.
The matter pertained to an alleged order, titled “Preventive action against persons involved in voter intimidation”, issued by the police observer in the CEO office to the state director general of police on April 21, the newspaper reported.
The order allegedly had a list of “troublemakers” and claimed that they were involved in intimidating voters and disturbing the electoral process.
Guidelines on webcasting
Additionally, the CEO office on Monday issued fresh guidelines on handling webcasting equipment deployed at polling booths, PTI reported.
In a notification, it said that cameras used for webcasting must be dismantled after the conclusion of polling on Wednesday in the presence of sector officers and deposited at designated receiving centres.
An unidentified Election Commission official said that the step is aimed at ensuring the security and preservation of poll-related data and equipment after voting.
During the day, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also said that the Central Armed Police Forces would remain deployed in West Bengal for at least 60 days after the Assembly elections and told voters not to be concerned about “Didi’s goons”.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is popularly known as “Didi”, or elder sister.
Ahead of the elections, the Election Commission deployed 2.4 lakh Central Armed Police Forces personnel in the state. About 500 companies, or 50,000 personnel, are expected to remain in place even after polling.
Read Scroll’s coverage of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections here.
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