The election in five municipalities, one notified authority and one Municipal Corporation will be held on August 13 and the results will be declared on August 17.
The municipalities where the elections will be held are Panskura and Haldia in East Midnapore, Nalhati in Birbhum, Buniadpur in South Dinajpur and Dhupguri in Jalpaiguri districts. Polls will be held in Durgapur Municipal Corporation (DMC) and Cooper's Camp Notified Authority in Nadia. There will be 815 polling stations of which 491 will be in DMC area. The polling will start at 7 am on Sunday.
The Trinamool Congress has left no stone unturned to ensure victory in all the Urban Local Bodies (ULB). Party supremo Mamata Banerjee has urged the leaders and workers to ensure win in all the seats. The TMC has already bagged two seats in Panskura municipality where its candidates have won uncontested after their rival nominees from the CPI(M) and BJP withdrew their candidature.
State Power minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay visited Buniadpur to campaign for the party's candidates. He was joined by Rabindranath Ghosh, state minister for North Bengal Development.
In DMC, state Sports and Youth Affairs minister Aroop Biswas had addressed party rallies. Though the civic body is under Trinamool, its Mayor Apurba Mukherjee lost to his CPI(M) rival in 2016 Assembly polls. Pradip Mazumdar, advisor to Chief Minister (Agriculture) also lost to his CPI(M) rival in 2016 Assembly polls and thus both the seats in Durgapur are now under the CPI(M). The Trinamool's main weapon is development of the area. Durgapur, which is now under West Burdwan district, has witnessed major development since the TMC came to power in 2011. Roads have been upgraded and civic facilities have improved. Several shopping malls have come up along with private educational institutions, hotels and restaurants. There has been all-round improvement in infrastructure. The Congress-CPI(M) alliance, which was there in 2016 Assembly polls, has lost much of its steam because of contradictory statements by the leaders of both the parties. Cooper's Camp which was once a Congress stronghold is now under the Trinamool's control and the party hopes to win in all the 12 wards. There will be by-polls in two wards, one each in Jhargram and Champdani municipalities respectively.