Kolkata, The West Bengal State Election Commission on Thursday issued a notification declaring elections to the state’s 108 municipalities to be held on February 27, nine months after the assembly polls between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The stage has been set for another match between
However, the date of counting of votes is not mentioned in the notification. State election officer Saurav Das said that it will be announced later. Polling will be held on February 27 in 108 municipalities in 21 districts of West Bengal, except Ward number 29 of Dakshin Dum Dum Municipality. Voting for Ward No 29 of Dum Dum Municipality has been stayed by the High Court.
The State Election Commission will hold a meeting with the District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police during the day to take stock of the security arrangements and preparations for the elections. “We will issue a separate notification to announce the date of counting of votes,” Das told a press conference. The entire voting process is to be completed by March 8. The model code of conduct has come into force from today. The last date for filing nominations is February 9.” Four other municipal corporations – Siliguri, Chandannagar, Bidhannagar and Asansol – will go to polls on February 12 and the counting of votes will be held on February 14.
Opposition parties on Wednesday urged the SEC to conduct simultaneous counting of votes for the February 12 elections and 108 municipalities. The elections to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation along with 112 other civic bodies were scheduled to be held in April-May 2020. But it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, the TMC retained power by winning 213 of the 294 assembly seats in the state.
The BJP managed to get only 77 seats in spite of vigorous campaigning. The TMC had won most of the districts in South Bengal and the BJP performed well in the northern districts. The civic polls in West Bengal will pave the way for yet another electoral battle between the TMC and the BJP and it will show whether both the parties are on the ground after the assembly elections in this politically unstable state. The fight for the Left Front, led by the Marxist Communist Party (M), is to retain its position as the main opposition party in most municipalities. The TMC had won most of the municipalities in 2015.