The Centre is deploying 2,400 companies of central armed forces — roughly 240,000 personnel — to West Bengal for a state election, making it possibly the most heavily militarized democratic exercise since voting was invented.
In a deployment that would make NATO planners raise an eyebrow, the Home Ministry has authorized 2,400 companies of Central Armed Police Forces for the West Bengal Assembly elections — a number that, for context, exceeds the entire standing army of several European nations. The initial 480 companies landed before the Election Commission even formally announced the election schedule, in what officials described as a "pre-emptive" measure, a term normally reserved for missile strikes rather than ballot management. Meanwhile, the EC mass-transferred over 50 senior IAS and IPS officers including the Chief Secretary, DGP, and Kolkata Police Commissioner — essentially performing a civilian regime change before the election could. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called it "crossing all boundaries of constitutional propriety," which, in Bengal political parlance, is practically a whisper. TMC has moved the Calcutta High Court, because when the election machinery looks like a military occupation, you need a judge to tell you if democracy is still on.