Kolkata, Dec 14 (PTI) BJP on Tuesday petitioned Calcutta High Court for deployment of central forces during the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) election on December 19 apprehending violence and complained of threats to its candidates and workers.

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The BJP had earlier moved Supreme Court with the prayer and had been directed by it to approach the high court.

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The BJP counsel submitted before the HC bench of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha that four emails and/or complaints were made by four KMC poll candidates of the party to the Kolkata police commissioner complaining of threats and expressing apprehension of violence.

Opposing BJP's prayer for deployment of central forces during the city civic body poll, Advocate General S N Mookherjee, representing the West Bengal government, submitted that a similar prayer had been rejected by the court in 2013.

He said that a division bench of the high court had during the day directed installation of CCTV cameras in every polling booth for the KMC elections.

Following submissions by BJP and the West Bengal government, the court said that the State Election Commission (SEC), which is vested with the responsibility of conducting free and fair elections in the state, must be heard.

Justice Mantha then adjourned the hearing till 10.30 am on Wednesday when the SEC "shall make submissions on apprehensions expressed by the petitioner and its candidates in the forthcoming election to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation."

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)