NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided to extend Central force’s security cover to former Calcutta High Court Judge and BJP leader Abhijit Gangopadhyay and former TMC MP Arjun Singh, among four leaders of the BJP in the state ahead of polls, officials said on Wednesday.BJP’s district-level leaders Abhijit Barman and Tapas Das are granted security protection by the personnel of Central Industrial Security Force’s (CISF) VIP security wing. Barman and Das have been given security under the ‘X’ category. Gangopadhyay has been granted security under the ‘Y+’ category, while Arjun Singh has been given security under the ‘Z’ category and they will be protected by the commandos of the Central Reserve Police Force.It is to be noted that Gangopadhyay and Singh recently joined the BJP. Their shift to BJP underscores the significance of their security arrangements amid the changing political landscape in the state, the officials said.Gangopadhyay and Singh were accorded the security cover by the MHA on March 27, days after they joined the BJP, while Barman and Das were granted the facility on March 29, said officials.Gangopadhyay joined the BJP days after he resigned as Calcutta High Court judge. The former judge made headlines last year, after an interview in which he discussed a case he was hearing. Almost 20 months after he severed ties with the BJP to join the TMC, Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh returned to the BJP last month.In response to heightened safety concern, the MHA granted security cover to the four BJP leaders ahead of the Lok Sabha elections beginning on April 19 in seven phases across India, the officials said.
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