EC may deploy 1,200 CAPF companies for upcoming Bihar polls

New Delhi: A total of 1,200 CAPF companies could be deployed by the Election Commission (EC) for the upcoming two-phased Bihar Assembly polls, officials said on Tuesday.

Almost 500 such units have already reached the state as part of the pre-poll deployment. Some more companies, reaching up to 1,200 companies, could be deployed after a final approval from the EC and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), they said.

Bihar had sought about 1,800 companies from the EC for the polls, the officials said.

The EC announced on Monday that the 243-member Bihar Assembly will go to polls in two phases on November 6 and 11.

The counting of votes will be taken up on November 14.

The maximum of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) companies for the Bihar polls will be drawn from the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), followed by other forces like the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Railway Protection Force (RPF).

A single CAPF company has an operational strength of about 70-80 personnel.

These units will be in addition to the Bihar Police units for providing security during the upcoming Assembly polls, according to the CAPF officials.