Kolkata, September 25 (Daily Kiran) : The West Bengal State Election Commission announced that the list of reserved wards for seven urban local bodies will be published next month. Notifications regarding the reserved wards for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) will be issued on October 7.
In addition, notifications for the reserved wards of the other five municipalities will be released on October 6. These include Haldia in East Medinipur, Dhupguri in Jalpaiguri, and Kalimpong and Kurseong in Darjeeling.
This decision was made following a meeting on Friday afternoon between West Bengal State Election Commissioner Krishna Gupta and the relevant district officials. The meeting also focused on the timeline for completing elections in these seven municipalities. According to the plan, the election notification may be issued on October 27 or 28, immediately after the Durga Puja festivities.
Voting is likely to take place on November 28 or 29, following the festive season, with the counting of votes and announcement of results projected for December 2. A total of 6,301 polling stations will be set up across these municipalities.
Meanwhile, the current boards of 112 other urban local bodies in the state will complete their term in the first quarter of 2027. The new government and the state election commission face the significant challenge of conducting elections for 127 local bodies within the next nine months.
Currently, there are 15 urban local bodies across 12 districts in West Bengal without elected boards, operating under administrators. Notably, the Howrah Municipal Corporation has not held elections for the past 13 years, with the last election occurring in 2013 and the elected board’s term ending in 2018.
Following the establishment of a new BJP-led state government, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari is pushing for an expedited election process at the administrative level. Shortly after the formation of the new cabinet, the state’s Minister for Municipal Affairs and Urban Development, Agnimitra Paul, met with the Chief Minister to discuss the upcoming municipal elections.
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