NEW DELHI ,21 April 2026 : An ‘unprecedented’ meeting of all units of CAPFs in Kolkata has sharpened the standoff between the Centre and Bengal, with the ruling Trinamool Congress alleging that it resembled plans for a ‘military-style takeover.’
Last week, Kolkata was witness to an “unprecedented” meeting of all units of central armed police forces (CAPFs) at the iconic Science City. The optics were hard to miss – the chiefs of CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP and SSB under one roof with hundreds of personnel in a crowded conference hall in a poll-bound state. The sheer scale of the gathering has only sharpened the standoff between the Centre and Bengal, with the ruling Trinamool Congress alleging that it resembled plans for a “military-style takeover” rather than a routine meeting.
In fact, such a joint meeting of chiefs from all units of the CAPF, which report to the Union Home Ministry, has never been held during any assembly elections in the past, PTI reported. A senior CAPF officer even admitted that it was an “unprecedented” meeting held in a poll-bound state to review security arrangements. Voting will be held on Thursday, April 23, and April 29.
Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra led the charge, alleging that the Home Ministry was “thinning” CAPF in Kashmir, Manipur and all sensitive areas to deploy in Bengal.
Please don’t make a joke of national security on the 1st anniversary of the Pahalgam attack… BJP and Gyanesh Kumar (Chief Election Commissioner) get top brass of CAPF to Bengal to plan full military-style takeover!” she tweeted.
Even journalists and political experts failed to recollect the last time such a meeting of this scale was held in any other state.
“This is as if the forces are preparing for an all-out war… Don’t remember the last time such a meeting was ever held in any other state. What’s boiling?” said political commentator Chandra Kumar Bose.
Already, the deployment of a record 2.4 lakh CAPF personnel (2,400 companies) in Bengal has grabbed eyeballs, with the Centre pointing to the history of poll-related violence in the state. It is the highest-ever deployment in a single state during elections.
This essentially translates to one CAPF personnel for every 140 voters if we take into account the total electorate (3.4 crore) in Phase 1. Bulletproof anti-riot vehicles from Jammu and Kashmir have also been deployed in Bengal. These help the forces in entering conflict areas.
Former Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale called it a bid to intimidate voters. For context, he cited that around 290 such companies, roughly 29,000 personnel, were deployed at the peak of ethnic violence in Manipur. The clashes left over 200 people dead and displaced thousands.
“These police forces have deployed armoured vehicles and military-style equipment on the streets of Bengal,” Gokhale tweeted.
“This is all part of an attempt to crush the people of Bengal under the boots of outside forces. Modi-Shah have been desperate to capture Bengal and to control our state from Delhi,” he further said.
Even during the 2024 J&K assembly elections, held after 10 years, around 900 CAPF companies were deployed.
While the ECI has not reacted to the remarks, the CISF stated that the meeting was held to ensure a “robust, technology-driven” integrated security grid for the Bengal elections.
Now, if we see the numbers, the CAPF deployment is nearly three times the 845 companies sent during the last Bengal assembly elections. In 2021, polling was held in eight phases. This time, it has been brought down to just two. It partly explains the massive deployment as a larger cluster of constituencies will be going to the polls on two days.
Even during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Bengal, which went to the polls in seven phases, received the largest share of forces (around 920 companies).
In fact, over the past two years, Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari has been repeatedly demanding President’s Rule and central forces in Bengal.
“It shows that Bengal elections are 10 times more important than anything that happens to Manipur,” lawyer and historian Sanjay Hegde tweeted.
The developments have raised a major question. Is the massive CAPF deployment justified?
An analysis by India Today DIU team shows that Bengal (35%) has seen more election-related violence than any other state over the past six years. The bloodiest was the 2021 polls, which saw 300 incidents of violence and 58 deaths.
The analysis is based on data collated by ACLED. The non-profit organisation, which provides conflict data, also identifies the primary actor behind the violence.
As per the data, since 2020, the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC has been identified as the primary actor in 77 violence events. The BJP is at a distant third at 25.
Former Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar, who also served as Bengal’s chief electoral officer, told The Telegraph that a deployment of this scale was meant to create a “socio-psychological impact”. “It has the impact of overwhelming the electorate,” Sircar said.
Now, given that the 2026 elections are being held in two phases, the view is that it will give less time for any violence to build. up. It remains to be seen how the voting pans out.
Picture credit social media
