Polls in 108 municipalities on Feb 27; date of counting of votes not announced yet

Kolkata: The State Election Commission (SEC) on Friday issued a notification announcing that polls in 108 municipalities will be held on February 27, barring only ward number 29 of South Dum Dum municipality.

The date of counting of votes will, however, be announced by the SEC later as it was not mentioned in the notification. As per the SEC notification, candidates can submit their nominations from February 3 to February 9. The scrutiny will be held on February 10. The Commission has set the last day for withdrawal of nominations on February 12. The polling will be held between 7 am and 5 pm.

A senior official of the SEC said the entire election process will be completed by March 8. Later in the day, State Election Commissioner Saurav Das held a meeting with District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police. Several issues relating to polls were discussed. Sources said that Das discussed with the DMs and SPs the possibilities of concluding campaigns within 48 hours prior to the poll instead of 72 hours.

They also touched upon the possibility of increasing campaigns by an hour. DMs and SPs of bordering districts have been directed to strengthen naka checking and keep a tab on the criminals and bordering areas can be sealed. They have also been asked to check if Covid norms are flouted anywhere. Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has to be strictly followed, SEC ordered the DMs.

Action must be taken against those who will be found flouting MCC irrespective of the party. "We will issue a separate notification to announce the date of counting. The entire polling process has to be completed by March 8. The Model Code of Conduct comes into force from Friday itself. The last date of filing nomination is February 9," Das said while addressing a press conference on Friday.

Meanwhile, polls in four municipal corporations — Siliguri, Chandannagar, Bidhannagar and Asansol are scheduled to take place on February 12. The counting of votes for the four civic bodies is set to be held on February 14. No polls will be held at ward number 29 under South Dum Dum municipality as it has been put on hold by the Calcutta High Court.

In Howrah district, there will be polling only in Uluberia municipality. The polls in Howrah Municipal Corporation are yet to be declared. In Cooch Behar, polling will be held in six municipalities, 25 municipalities in North 24-Parganas while Hooghly district will have polls in 12 municipalities. Polls will be held in seven municipalities in Murshidabad, 10 in Nadia and five in Birbhum while South 24-Parganas will witness polls in six municipalities, including Diamond Habour. In the Darjeeling district, there will be polling in Darjeeling Municipality only.