West Bengal elections: Election Commission undergoes new reshuffle ahead of polls, transfers 19 senior police officers

New Delhi: election commission of india The ECI on Tuesday ordered the transfer of 19 senior police officers in West Bengal, marking the third consecutive day of such reshuffles in the state.The poll body replaced the police chiefs of ADG/IGP, Howrah, Barakpur, Chandan Nagar and Asansol-Durgapur in South and North Bengal districts, and 12 Superintendents of Police (SPs) and one Deputy Commissioner (DC) in 13 districts.The first handover took place at the top bureaucracy in the state, hours after the ECI on Sunday announced the schedule for assembly elections in four states, including West Bengal and Puducherry.The second round of transfers took place at the top of the West Bengal Police on Monday afternoon. Under Article 324 of the Constitution, the ECI has the power to transfer officials directly involved in elections. Under the Act, the polling body has powers of “supervision, direction and control” over the entire voting machinery of a state or union territory during elections.However, the transfers drew sharp criticism in Parliament from the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which governs West Bengal. TMC MP Derek O’Brien announced a one-day strike by members of the House of Commons to protest against what he called “the midnight diversion of the ECI”. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, however, stressed that the poll panel was exercising its constitutional mandate and accused the TMC of “frequently attacking constitutional institutions”.“All 294 assembly constituencies in West Bengal will go to polls in two phases – April 23 and 29 – for 152 and 142 seats respectively. Counting of votes will take place on May 4.