In a massive preemptive security measure designed to curb the state's historically bloody transition periods, the Union Home Ministry is mandating that tens of thousands of central personnel will actively patrol West Bengal long after the ballots are counted.
Brajesh Mishra
The central government has just made an unprecedented administrative move to preemptively lock down West Bengal following the highly volatile Assembly Elections.
On the final day of Phase 2 campaigning today, Monday, April 27, 2026, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced that Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) will remain deployed across the state for at least seven days after the election results are declared.
Addressing a massive, saffron-clad roadshow in Behala (South Kolkata) just hours before the strict campaign deadline, Amit Shah assured voters that the massive security blanket currently covering the state will not suddenly vanish once the ballots are cast.
"Brothers and sisters, go and vote on the 29th, do not worry about the goons," Shah stated from atop his open-hooded vehicle. "The Election Commission has made extensive security arrangements, and I am telling you that even though the BJP will come to power, central forces will remain here for seven days."
With the final election results scheduled to be announced on May 4, this high-level directive means that tens of thousands of heavily armed CAPF personnel will actively patrol the state until at least May 11.
Using the Behala roadshow as his final pitch, Shah reiterated the BJP's absolute confidence in forming the next government, promising that a BJP-led administration will immediately begin transforming the state into a "Sonar Bangla" (Golden Bengal) and aggressively push back illegal infiltrators.
This extraordinary extension is almost entirely driven by the state's bloody political history.
Following the Trinamool Congress's (TMC) massive victory in the previous assembly elections, West Bengal witnessed a horrific, deeply polarizing wave of retaliatory post-poll violence. The BJP is taking zero chances this time, utilizing the Home Ministry's leverage to ensure their ground-level cadres and voters are not left at the absolute mercy of the state police during the volatile transition of power.
However, the state government has firmly pushed back against the militarized optics. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has spent the last week fiercely criticizing the heavy deployment of over 2 lakh central personnel, equating their commanding presence to the armored vehicles routinely used in Kashmir. The TMC claims the extended stay is a clear violation of state rights and a thinly veiled attempt by the BJP to intimidate rural voters using federal uniforms.
While political rallies focus on the campaign rhetoric, the "Missed Angle" here is the stark administrative message this move sends regarding the central government's lack of faith in the West Bengal Police.
By legally mandating the CAPF to remain on the ground for a full week post-results, the Home Ministry is effectively suspending the incoming state government's absolute authority over its own law-and-order apparatus during the most critical, vulnerable window of the transition.
It is a preemptive, tactical strike against any political faction intending to use the celebratory post-result chaos to settle scores. By retaining operational control of the streets, New Delhi is ensuring that regardless of who wins the mathematical majority on May 4, the central government retains the physical monopoly on security.
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