Tamil Nadu also refuses addl forces

Thiruvananthapuram: With the Tamil Nadu government also declining the state's request for security forces for election works, the police will have a tough time ensuring foolproof security for the local body polls, especially since about 4,800 polling stations have been identified as sensitive. Only Karnataka has so far offered six companies of forces for election security.

The centre had earlier declined the state's request for 18 companies of forces, which add up to about 1,520 personnel. The ongoing Bihar elections were cited as reason for not sparing central forces for Kerala.

Subsequently, the state sought forces from Kanataka and Tamil Nadu.  “We sought more forces from both the states. But Tamil Nadu authorities informed that they could not spare any at present. Hence we are seeking more forces from Karnataka, apart from the six they already offered,” said state police chief T P Senkumar.

A total of 56,000 police personnel are required for foolproof election bandobast, whereas the available strength is only about 40,000. Since the polls are spread over two phases, the police hopes to manage with the available resources.

Additional security arrangements including armed police personnel and video surveillance will be deployed at the sensitive booths, which include booths in areas facing maoist threats as well as politically sensitive areas. The state election commission will be also arranging video surveillance in about 1,350 polling boots which are prone to incidents of manipulations in polling.