The West Bengal State Election Commission has deferred publication of the final voter lists for Kolkata and six other municipalities, adding uncertainty to the schedule for upcoming civic elections across the state. The lists were due to be published on November 12, but the commission said in a notification that the publication deadline had been extended and that a new date would be announced later.
The commission’s notification did not specify the reason for the delay, according to a report by Anandabazar – West Bengal. However, the decision comes as the proposed Kolkata Municipal Corporation election remains linked to a pending case before the Calcutta High Court concerning the corporation’s ward delimitation. The court is scheduled to pronounce its judgment on Friday.
The commission is reportedly assessing the impact of that judgment on the election process. Its earlier plan was to conduct the municipal elections in November, using the electoral roll published in July as the base list and adding newly eligible voters through a supplementary list. The two lists were expected to be combined for preparing the final roll for the civic polls.
The postponement could allow more voters to be included before the electoral roll is finalised. The commission had previously indicated that the July roll would be updated with the names of voters added later. If the election is announced after the next round of updates, an October electoral roll may instead be used, according to the report.
The electoral rolls are prepared by the Election Commission of India and supplied to the State Election Commission for conducting municipal elections. Once an election is formally announced, the roll is generally frozen, meaning that names cannot ordinarily be added or removed during the election period. The timing of the final publication therefore affects which updated voter database can be used for the polls.
The seven municipalities under consideration are Kolkata, Howrah, Bally, Haldia, Dhupguri, Kalimpong and Kurseong. The State Election Commission is seeking to conduct elections in these urban local bodies, but the final decision on which municipalities will vote and when rests with the state government.
The report said a formal election announcement could come towards the end of the following week. That timetable will depend on the High Court’s decision on Kolkata’s ward delimitation and the state government’s position on the municipalities to be included. Until then, the commission has not fixed a new date for publishing the final voter lists.
