The Indian government is likely to deploy nearly 50,000 paramilitary force personnel to ensure
peaceful polls in the four states and Puducherry in southern India where Assembly elections will be held in April-May.
The Home Ministry has begun preliminary discussions with the Election Commission on the possible deployment of central forces during the Assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
"The EC team is currently visiting all poll-bound states to take an on-the-spot assessment of the situation in each state. After EC's own assessment, we will hold formal
discussion with them and finalise the security plan," a Home Ministry official said.
Polls in these states are expected to be multi-phased and the paramilitary forces would be sent according to the needs of the each state to assist the local police.
West Bengal, which has been witnessing Maoist violence as well political clashes, may required the bulk of the central forces -- estimated to be around 20,000 personnel.
Insurgency-hit Assam is the next in the priority list of the Home Ministry where, too, a substantial number of paramilitary force personnel would be required to be deployed to ensure peaceful polls.
Additional central forces would also be sent to Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry as some parts of the two southern states and the Union Territory are considered to be sensitive.
The Home Ministry has also asked the Directors General of CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP and SSB to make an assessment about how many thousand troops could be sparred by them for the polls duty.