Bengal civic polls covering seven urban local bodies, including the Calcutta and Howrah municipal corporations, are likely to be held between November 27 and 29, with the entire process scheduled to conclude by December 7, according to administrative sources cited by The Telegraph India.
The proposed election window follows preparations by the State Election Commission, including a virtual conference convened by state election commissioner Krishna Gupta with district magistrates to finalise field-level arrangements. Formal notifications are expected from the state government around October 27, after the Durga Puja holidays, the report said.
Voting is planned across 6,301 booths in seven municipal jurisdictions: Calcutta, Howrah, Bally, Haldia, Dhupguri, Kalimpong and Kurseong. Polling could take place over one or two days within the November 27-29 window. Administrative sources said the dates were considered almost certain, although limited adjustments could still be made if required.
Electronic voting machines are scheduled to be dispatched to the concerned locations in the following week as part of the preparations. The election authorities have set December 7 as the deadline for completing the electoral process, including the declaration of results.
The proposed polls are especially significant for Calcutta and Howrah, where no civic elections have been held for 13 years. The absence of elected municipal boards has kept the question of representative urban administration at the centre of political and governance debates in the two major cities.
The report also noted that 15 civic bodies across 12 districts in Bengal currently remain without elected boards. The upcoming exercise would therefore affect not only the two largest municipal corporations named in the schedule, but also five other urban jurisdictions with different administrative and local-government requirements.
Political parties have linked the municipal elections to broader questions of governance. Baiswanor Chattopadhyay, described in the report as a Trinamool Congress loyalist, said the party would assess its strategy after the formal notification was issued and rules were strictly followed. BJP Bengal chief spokesperson Debjit Sarkar described the municipal polls as a step towards what he called acceptable governance standards.
The next formal milestone is the expected notification around October 27. Until that notification is issued, the November 27-29 schedule remains a proposed window rather than a formally notified election timetable.
