The Election Commission of India sent instructions to officials deployed in poll-bound West Bengal to book notorious “troublemakers”, identify potential “intimidators” and pick them up as preventive detention while sharing a secret list of over a thousand individuals – most of them Trinamool Congress MLAs and candidates, according to internal communication and documents reviewed by The Wire.On Wednesday, the Calcutta high court stayed the controversial memo.An internal communication issued by the ECI to district nodal officers via WhatsApp on Tuesday (April 21) said that notorious troublemakers should be booked under substantive sections of the law.“As we are reaching close to Match Day (April 23), we need to accelerate our planned actions for creating an environment for [a] peaceful, free, fair and fearless poll. More we work today and tomorrow, easier it would be on the Match Day. So far, we are going good,” it said, twice referring to the first day of polling in the West Bengal assembly election as match day.“On P-1 afternoon/evening potential intimidators be carefully identified and picked up as preventive detention. They may be allowed for vote. We need to [be] very careful in preventive detention. As, any action against innocent will be contrary to our objective of free and fair poll. Such action must be taken in consultation with local police,” the ECI note said, adding that if the situation demanded that “force is to be used to prevent escalation of violence, minimum required force be used. A graded and restricted response will always be prudent. Use of excess force must be avoided as it will be counterproductive”.A source spoken to over the phone confirmed that similar notifications as the April 21 communication had been issued over the past week as well.On April 18, the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, issued an order directing officials to give “special attention” to some areas before and during polling.Two days before this communication, the Election Commission also issued a list of over a thousand individuals identified as “trouble mongers” (meaning trouble makers) in which were at least a dozen MLAs belonging to the ruling Trinamool Congress including sitting MLA Hamidul Rahaman, Manirul Islam and Amirul Islam and dozens of candidates.Sources said that preventive action is expected against those named in this list during the legally mandated silent period before voting.The list was challenged by the TMC in the Calcutta high court on Monday through a public interest litigation that said the ECI has secretly prepared and circulated a list of so-called trouble makers across West Bengal, with directions to identify and arrest or preventively detain such persons before polling in the 2026 assembly elections.The petition, filed by advocate Mohd Danish Farooqui, claims the alleged list predominantly contains workers, office-bearers and elected representatives associated with the ruling TMC. It contends that any such arrests, without specific criminal cases or lawful grounds, would amount to a direct assault on personal liberty and the democratic process.The Calcutta High Court stepped in on Wednesday (April 22) staying the controversial communication issued from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer stating that the Election Commission does not have “unbridled powers”. “By referring to Article 324 of the Constitution, it is urged that Election Commission does not have any unbridled powers. It can exercise its power provided the area is not covered by any other legislation or enactment,” it noted.Article 324 gives the Election Commission authority to conduct polls. The court noted that when election related offences are prescribed in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Representation of the People (RP) Act, 1951, the authorities entrusted therein alone are competent to take action as per their own discretion if any such offence is committed.A Division Bench led by Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen passed an interim order observing, “In our prima facie view the police observer in the office of Chief Election Officer, West Bengal has erred in issuing blanket direction by treating certain citizens as ‘trouble-makers’.”The Election Commission document does not specify charges but groups individuals constituency-wise, effectively flagging them for monitoring or restriction during a critical pre-election window.These measures come as the Election Commission is already facing scrutiny over its Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. In West Bengal alone, more than 90 lakh people, nearly 12% of the electorate, were removed from electoral rolls or had their voting status put in doubt weeks before polling. Around 60 lakh were marked as “absentee” or “deceased”, while lakhs remain stuck in a tribunal process unlikely to conclude before voting ends.The Supreme Court has declined to grant interim voting rights to those with pending appeals, effectively leaving a substantial number unable to vote in this election.In another order issued by the ECI on April 18, the poll body instructed officials to exercise “special attention” in areas with high voter deletions, warning that people whose names are not in the final electoral roll might protest, potentially leading to law-and-order situations before and during polling.“Special attention should be given in areas/polling stations where deletion of voters during SIR process is high as miscreants may incite the people, whose names are not in final electoral roll, to protest which may lead to law-and-order situation before and during poll,” it noted.It directed that “non-voters/unauthorised persons, including those adjudicated as ineligible… shall not be allowed inside or to congregate near polling booths,” effectively restricting the presence of individuals excluded during the revision process from areas around polling stations.The Election Commission also directed officials to clearly demarcate a 100-metre radius around polling stations where canvassing is prohibited under Section 130 of the RP Act, 1951.The Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal’s April 18 order directed that armed police could reach narrow lanes on bikes, while “non-voters” would not be permitted within 100 meters of poling booths.“Non-voters/unauthorised persons, including those adjudicated as ineligible by judicial officers and not decided as eligible by the tribunal, shall not be allowed inside or to congregate near existing polling booths. No congregations and crowding near booths or narrow lanes leading to the booths, shall be allowed,” it noted.It also noted the implementation of Section 144 regarding ban on unlawful assemblies in last 48 hours before the poll.“Further, there have been inputs regarding intimidation of voters by trouble/mongers, riding on two-wheelers in localities. Therefore, officer-in-charge of state police shall ensure that no such activity happens in his/her area,” it said.“Bike riders may be stopped for checking and if found involved in any such activity, action must be taken as per law,” it said.These developments coincide with unprecedented deployment of a record 2.4 lakh (2,400 companies) of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel in West Bengal, the highest-ever deployment in a single state during elections.The sheer scale of the deployment has led to allegations of voter intimidation. Last week, an unprecedented meeting of all units of CAPFs took place in Kolkata. The chiefs of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) along with hundreds of personnel gathered in a crowded conference hall, prompting the TMC to say the gathering resembled plans for a “military-style takeover” rather than a routine meeting.The tightening of electoral controls has unfolded alongside pressure on political actors linked to the ruling party. In the run-up to the polls, I-PAC, the political consultancy firm working with the TMC, has faced multiple raids by the Enforcement Directorate, a wing of the Union Finance Ministry.West Bengal will vote in two phases on April 23 and April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 4.Anisha is an award-winning investigative journalist based in New York with over a decade of experience covering politics.