KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress (TMC) wrote to the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, to stop the deployment of State Armed Police (SAP) from BJP ruled state (Uttar Pradesh) to West Bengal ahead of the assembly elections.
The letter said, "It has come to our notice that 30 companies of State Armed Police (S.A.P) from Uttar Pradesh has been directed to be deployed by the Election Commission for the ongoing General Election to the Assembly Elections of West Bengal. While we do not object to deployment of S.A.P from any non-BJP ruled states, however we strongly object to deployment of personnel of S.A.P from UP, since it is governed by Bharatiya Janata Party and their Chief Minister Shri Yogi Adityanath, is a star campaigner for BJP."
"The above would heavily disturb the level playing field and impartiality of the election machinery and we suspect them to have a bias in favour of BJP," it further said.
"We call upon the Election Commission to immediately stop such movement/deployment of S.A.P from UP and/or any other BJP ruled state to West Bengal," it added.
In the run-up to the Assembly elections, an intense tussle of power has been witnessed between BJP and the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), with both sides at loggerheads with each other on various issues.
Elections to the 294-member state Assembly will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting taking place on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.