NEW DELHI: Countering RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav’s allegation over the disproportionate deployment of forces and observers in poll-bound Bihar from BJP-ruled states, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday said nearly 80 percent of the police forces are drawn from Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs).
A senior ECI official said, “Only about 20 percent of the police forces are deployed from the State Armed Police forces, which are drawn proportionately from different states as per availability. State forces have been taken from 24 states, including Jharkhand, Telangana, Kerala, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Karnataka.”
Even observers have been drawn and deployed proportionately from all states irrespective of the ruling party in the respective state, the official said, adding that CCTVs have been functioning at all strong rooms and wherever any malfunctioning has come to notice, it has been promptly rectified.
On the issue of voters’ turnout ratio in terms of male and female, the ECI official said, the overall gender ratio with regard to voters ‘turnout “is generally given at the time of final turnout” and “we still have one round of voting is left”.