Varanasi, May 12 – Varanasi has turned into a fortress with over 45,000 security personnel being deployed to ensure free and fair polls today in the city.
Gun-toting security personnel could be seen in almost every part of the city as well as in rural areas and police said there should not be any apprehension about any irregularities including rigging and booth capturing during the polls.
Two of most talked about politicians BJP’s Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal of Aam Aadmi Party are locked in a high-stake contest in the temple town.
Top police officers of Uttar Pradesh have personally come down to the city to assess the security situation and make foolproof arrangements for what is being dubbed as the blockbuster battle of the 2014 Lok Sabha (the lower house of Indian Parliament) polls, with the Election Commission too already appointing a Special Observer.
Prakash D, Inspector General of Police (Varanasi Division), said “adequate” number of security personnel from state police, Border Security Force, Rapid Action Force and Central Reserve Police Force have been deployed besides all possible measures to ensure free and fair polls in the high-profile constituency.
Central paramilitary forces have been deployed at all the 1,562 polling stations which are also under CCTV coverage.
