'Don’t worry about Didi's goons': HM Amit Shah tells Bengal voters    

New Delhi, April 27 (IANS) On the last day of campaigning for the second phase of West Bengal Assembly elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday exhorted voters to exercise their franchise fearlessly on April 29 and not “worry about Didi’s goons”.

“Don't worry about Didi's goons; the Election Commission has deployed CAPF at every nook and cranny. Today, I'm saying it as I go — after the elections, a BJP government is coming. Even so, CAPF will stay right here for the next 60 days,” said HM Shah on X, assuring voters that central forces deployed by the poll panel will protect them even after the announcement of results on May 4.

The Union Home Minister’s call to voters for taking part in elections coincided with the culmination of the campaign for the second phase of Assembly elections in West Bengal.

Earlier, ahead of voting on 142 Assembly constituencies on April 29, the ECI on Monday decided to further strengthen the surveillance mechanism by bringing the approach roads to critical or hypersensitive polling stations under CCTV coverage.

“In the first phase of polls, there were two CCTVs within the polling station premises, one within the polling room and the other just outside the polling room, to ensure elimination of electoral malpractices within the polling station premises. But there were some reports in the first phase of polls of voter intimidation outside the polling stations. So, this time, the ECI has decided to install CCTV outside the polling stations as well to keep the different approach roads to the polling stations under strict surveillance,” an insider from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer said.

The number of CCTV installations to monitor activities at the approach roads will depend on the sensitivity of the polling stations concerned, he said.

The ECI also announced that flying squads and security agencies have so far seized cash, liquor and other freebies worth Rs 510.10 crore in Bengal – nearly Rs 200 crore more than the Rs 339 crore worth of inducement items recovered during the 2021 Assembly elections.

The results of the elections to pick a new 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be declared on May 4.