New Delhi:

Out of Delhi’s 13,500 polling stations, police have so far identified around 2,000 as “critical” and will deploy extra security personnel there, officials said today, based on past cases and the possibility of deteriorating law and order conditions. .

As many as 1.47 billion people are eligible to exercise their franchise in the city’s seven Lok Sabha constituencies and voting will be held on May 25.

Before every election, the police prepare a list of polling stations marked as “critical” based on several parameters. The Electoral Commission then makes the final decision on the list.

The city has a total of about 13,500 polling stations, which are likely to be spread at about 2,700 locations across Delhi.

“We have identified key polling stations and polling stations in various districts of Delhi. We have prepared plans to deal with any law and order situation,” a senior police officer said.

The official added that there is a set of criteria to determine the sensitivity of polling stations. “We usually assess it from a law and order perspective.” According to data from different police districts, the New Delhi region has the lowest number of key polling stations at five.

The South East police have prepared a list of 53 critical polling stations, while the North East police have designated 55 such polling stations.

Lists of 146 key stalls have been prepared in Shahdara and North West districts respectively. More than 50 stalls have been marked as critical stalls in Dwarka district. There are 38 key booths in the outer north area.

Sharing details of the deployment of security personnel, another senior police officer said that apart from the normal deployment plan at polling stations, each polling station marked as critical will also be staffed with two head constables and half a force of central paramilitary forces.

On Thursday, Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora stressed the need for proper coordination between the city police and the Central Armed Police Forces to ensure smooth conduct of the upcoming assembly elections.

Special Commissioner of Police (Protection of Security) Dependra Pathak shared the challenges faced by the police in ensuring comprehensive dignitary security and robust security arrangements during the elections.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)