Overview
- The Election Commission replaced five police observers on Saturday ahead of West Bengal’s two-phase Assembly vote in April.
- One appointee, Jayant Kant, was removed from four Malda constituencies after TMC said his wife is a BJP leader in Bihar, and the EC named Hriday Kant as his replacement.
- Further changes covered parts of Murshidabad, West Burdwan, West Midnapore, and North 24-Parganas, including segments such as Jangipur, Asansol South, Kharagpur, and Habra.
- Police observers are senior officers from outside the state who track law and order during polling, and West Bengal has 84 of them this cycle, reported as the most among the poll-bound states and UTs.
- TMC accuses the Commission of favoring the BJP through transfers and swaps, while the BJP says the shake-ups are needed to ensure free, fair, and violence-free voting, with polling set for April 23 and April 29 and results on May 4.