At a press conference at the Writers’ Buildings, he said: “The Centre has informed us it cannot provide its forces for panchayat elections. Had we got them, we would have been more comfortable.”
He added: “We have started talking to the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Orissa and Gujarat, to name a few, requesting them to send forces. Assam and Jharkhand have already turned down our request. We are waiting for responses from other states.”
To oversee the poll preparations, Chakrabarty met the district magistrates and superintendents of police of Murshidabad, Malda and Nadia on April 19. On April 26, he will have similar meetings with the DMs and SPs of North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar. On April 30, he will meet the DMs and SPs of Burdwan, Bankura, Purulia and Birbhum.