Kolkata, 06 November (H.S.) : The municipal elections for seven civic bodies in West Bengal, including the Kolkata and Howrah Municipal Corporations, have been effectively put on hold. In a significant judicial intervention, the Calcutta High Court has directed that the State Election Commission cannot issue any notification regarding the civic polls until the ongoing ward delimitation (reorganization of wards) case is finally resolved. This fresh directive has cast a cloud of uncertainty over the immediate future of municipal elections across the state.

A vacation bench comprising Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya and Justice Arjun Roy Mukherjee heard the matter on Friday. Taking up the petition, which was filed during the recent Durga Puja holidays, the division bench explicitly stated that the electoral process cannot advance until the ward delimitation dispute is conclusively settled. Consequently, the timeline for the pending civic polls now remains a major question mark.

The controversy stems from the state government's recent move to initiate the process of increasing the number of wards in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation from the existing 144 to 209. Similar seat reorganization and delimitation measures were also planned for several other municipal bodies. Since its inception, opposition parties have strongly objected to the restructuring process, alleging that it was a calculated move designed to yield unfair political advantages for the ruling party. Following vehement protests, the political dispute eventually reached the High Court.

Elections in several municipal corporations and municipalities across the state have been pending for an extended period. Following the dissolution of their previous elected boards, these civic bodies are currently being managed by state-appointed administrators. The prolonged absence of elected representatives has reportedly hampered the delivery of basic civic services, causing significant inconvenience to the general public. While the state government was eager to conduct the polls swiftly—with political circles speculating that elections could be held by late November—the High Court's stay order has effectively slammed the brakes on those plans.

Reacting to the judicial development, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar stated that while the court's verdict must be respected, the ongoing hardships faced by citizens due to the delayed polls remain a matter of grave concern. After the court's directive, we have nothing more to say on that front. However, due to the absence of elections, the common people are facing massive civic issues. Therefore, we demand that the ward delimitation case be resolved at the earliest so that the election process can be completed in a timely manner, Majumdar said.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh