300-Seat Polls: Drones and Dog Squads Deployed

To monitor polling stations, 25,500 body-worn cameras have been provided to the police, following a successful trial. Additionally, 657 Judicial Magistrates and 1,047 Executive Magistrates will be stationed across 300 constituencies for seven days, from February 8 to 14.

Regarding electoral statistics, it was revealed that over 42,779 polling centers and approximately 2.5 lakh booths have been prepared for 12.77 crore voters. A total of 1,842 candidates from 51 political parties are contesting in this election. On the administrative side, 64 Deputy Commissioners and 2 Divisional Commissioners will serve as Returning Officers. The Election Commission (EC) has decided to begin printing postal ballots at midnight today, following the allocation of symbols.

A massive contingent of security forces will be mobilized for the polls. Shafiqul Alam noted that for the first time, over one lakh Army personnel will act as a striking force. They will be supported by 1.5 lakh police officers, 5.76 lakh Ansar members, 38,000 BGB personnel, and units from RAB and the Coast Guard. Furthermore, 13,390 Fire Service personnel have been included for the first time to provide rapid response. Each polling center will be guarded by 15 to 19 personnel, depending on its importance.