India, April 28 -- As if the ongoing state assembly elections in West Bengal were falling short of controversies, a new row erupted over the Election Commission's deployment of IPS officer Ajay Pal Sharma, popularly known as Uttar Pradesh's 'encounter specialist', as police observer for South 24 Parganas district.

Sharma's deployment comes ahead of second round of voting in West Bengal on Wednesday, April 29, leading to a major row between the incumbent Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

While the BJP and the ECI said that Sharma has been deployed to ensure "free and fair voting" in the state, the Trinamool Congress and also Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav claimed that the BJP is trying to tilt the vote in their fa...