EC to visit WB to oversee poll preparedness

The full bench of the Election Commission will visit West Bengal on Thursday to oversee the poll preparedness for the last three phases of the assembly polls. Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi and the other two Election Commissioners V.S. Sampath and HS Brahma will arrive in Kolkata in the morning and hold meeting with the representatives of the political parties.

Coverage: Assembly Elections 2011

State Additional Chief Electoral Officer NK Sahana said the full Commission will hold also review meeting with the district magistrates, police superintendents, inspector generals of police and their deputies and divisional commissioners of the seven districts, Howrah, Hooghly, East Midnapore, Burdwan, and Maoist-infested West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia, which will go to polls in fourth, fifth and sixth phases.

The EC will also hold discussions with the state chief secretary, home secretary and director general.  Earlier, the full team of the EC visited the State on Mar 22 ahead of six phase elections.

The first and second phase of voting took place on April 18 and 23 respectively. Around 77 per cent voting was recorded in the third phase of West Bengal assembly polls in 75 seats covering Kolkata, North and South 24 Parganas districts, which took place on Wednesday. The fourth phase will take place on May 3, fifth phase on May 7 and sixth phase on May 10.