In the turbulent backdrop of 1971, West Bengal witnessed army divisions being deployed to curb poll-related violence. Fast forward to the 2026 elections, and the lessons of history resonate as a formidable contingent of central police personnel is mobilized across the state, striving to maintain peace and order during the voting process under stringent security measures.
The Political Crisis of 1971
In 1971, the situation in India was tense, even more so in West Bengal. The political crisis that started in Pakistan after the 1970 general elections was about to spill over into broader tensions with India, and this would end up in a war and the birth of Bangladesh. West Bengal was on the frontline of this strife. Thousands of East Pakistanis were escaping the crackdown. The tensions were so high that on March 1, Pakistani President General Yahya Khan suspended the national assembly.
When the Army Was Deployed for West Bengal Elections
In February, as the tensions were increasing, West Bengal was to vote for its sixth assembly elections. Expecting violence, the army deployed nearly four divisions to the poll-bound state, according to The Hindu. Four divisions, for context, were the total number of divisions deployed by the Army in Leh-based 14 Corps and Kashmir-based 15 Corps before the Galwan crisis. The army was deployed to curb poll violence in West Bengal in February, well in advance of the March 10 election date. The soldiers started patrolling in northern and eastern parts of Kolkata, as well as in Asansol and Burdwan, as per the same The Hindu report.
In February 1971, two infantry divisions, as well as the army's elite 50th Parachute Brigade, also known as the Shatrujeet Brigade, was also deployed in West Bengal to quell the Naxalbari insurgency, as per a report from The Telegraph.
The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same
This time too, a significant amount of reportage from West Bengal in this election cycle has focused on election violence. The Election Commission (EC) has deployed nearly 2,400 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) across the state to curb poll violence, with nearly 2.4 lakh personnel deployed in different parts of the state to ensure peaceful elections. The central police forces will see the heaviest deployment in areas where the risk of violence is the highest. The state capital, Kolkata, will see the heaviest deployment of these forces, with 27,300 personnel, with East Burdwan coming in a close second with 26,000 personnel and Hooghly with 23,400 central police personnel. This is similar to where the army was deployed in February of 1971. The 2021 election was also marked by considerable post-poll violence, and the EC will keep 500 companies of the central forces to prevent a reoccurrence.
