The West Bengal State Election Commission will complete the seat reservation process for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Howrah civic body by October 7, setting a key administrative deadline ahead of the next municipal elections. The commission has also scheduled the process for five other municipalities — Dhupguri, Kalimpong, Haldia, Darjeeling and Jhargram — to be completed by October 6.
The schedule will determine which wards are reserved for women and Scheduled Caste candidates after the delimitation of Kolkata’s municipal wards. A draft notification issued on September 16 proposed 209 seats for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, up from the current 144 wards.
Under the draft list, 66 of the 209 Kolkata seats will be reserved for women. Another 12 seats will be reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates, including four seats specifically earmarked for SC women. The reservation arrangement will apply to the expanded ward structure created through the delimitation exercise.
Residents and other stakeholders can file claims and objections to the draft seat reservation list until September 30. The objections process is the next formal opportunity to challenge or seek changes to the proposed distribution before the commission publishes the final list.
An official of the State Election Commission told The Telegraph that existing rules require the final list of reserved seats to be published no later than seven weeks before the date of polling. The timeline places the reservation exercise within the wider administrative preparations required before the civic elections can be scheduled.
The commission has not yet announced the final polling date for Kolkata and Howrah. The official said the date would be fixed after consultations with different agencies. The final reservation list and the subsequent election schedule will therefore determine when candidates, political parties and voters receive the complete details of the new ward-level contest in Kolkata and the civic poll timetable for Howrah.
