Kolkata, 03 September (H.S.) : Municipal elections in West Bengal could be held at any time after Durga Puja, with the State Election Commission stepping up preparations for the polls. A high-level virtual meeting was held at the State Election Commission’s office in Kolkata on Wednesday evening following directions from the state government.

The meeting, chaired by State Election Commissioner Krishna Gupta, directed officials to complete all election-related preparations before the Durga Puja festivities.

The commission has also sought details from the district administrations of six districts regarding the number of police personnel likely to be required to ensure free, fair and peaceful municipal elections.

District Magistrates and District Municipal Election Officers from Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, South 24 Parganas, Howrah and East Midnapore participated in the meeting.

According to commission sources, the meeting reviewed key aspects of the election process, including the delimitation of municipal areas, reservation of seats, management of electronic voting machines (EVMs), preparation of the final electoral rolls, selection of polling stations and deployment of adequate polling personnel.

However, no final decision has yet been taken on whether EVMs used in the state Assembly elections will be deployed for the municipal polls or whether newer machines will be brought in.

The commission has also not decided whether elections to all pending municipalities will be conducted on a single day or held in multiple phases. The final decision is expected to depend partly on the availability of EVMs.

Elections are pending in several major municipal bodies across the state, including the five municipal corporations of Kolkata, Howrah, Bidhannagar, Durgapur and Siliguri. Polls are also pending in several municipalities in North Bengal and the hills, including Kurseong, Mirik, Kalimpong, Raiganj, Buniadpur and Dhupguri.

Several other civic bodies, including Bally, Domkal, Pujali, Panskura, Haldia, Cooper's Camp in Nadia and Nalhati, are also awaiting elections.

The commission has, however, set some broad timelines for the preparatory process. According to sources, the preliminary list for seat reservations could be published by the middle of September.

The commission will subsequently examine objections received against the preliminary list, with a target of finalising the reservation list by the last week of October.

The latest developments indicate that the State Election Commission is accelerating preparations so that the pending municipal elections can be conducted soon after Durga Puja, although the final election schedule has not yet been announced.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh