West Bengal municipal elections have moved into formal preparation, with the State Election Commission beginning arrangements for polls in seven civic bodies, including Kolkata and Howrah, potentially in late November 2026.
A review meeting led by State Election Commissioner Krishna Gupta was held after the Puja holidays to assess the preparations. According to the commission’s reported plan, an official election notification could be issued on October 27 or 28, followed by polling on November 28 or 29 and counting on December 2. The dates have not yet been formally announced.
The seven civic bodies included in the first phase are Kolkata, Howrah, Bally, Haldia, Dhupguri, Kalimpong and Kurseong. The commission is preparing for voting across 6,301 polling booths, while administrative work has already begun in the districts concerned. Electronic voting machines received on loan from the Election Commission of India have been allocated, and their movement to the districts is expected to begin shortly.
The first-level checking of the EVMs is scheduled between September 29 and October 6. The commission will also use the Election Manpower Management System, an online platform for managing and deploying election personnel. More than 37,000 polling staff will be required for the 6,301 booths. Each polling station is expected to have one presiding officer and three polling officers, apart from reserve personnel.
The schedule for ward reorganisation and reservation has also been set out. The final publication of Form B, which contains the list of reserved seats, is scheduled for October 7 for Kolkata and Howrah and October 6 for the other five municipalities. The reservation process will follow the applicable law and the prescribed rotation roster.
The commission’s preliminary plan is to conduct polling within seven weeks of the publication of Form B. Electoral and polling-station preparations will proceed in parallel. The electoral roll revised by the Election Commission of India up to July 1 is to be received in the first week of October. A draft voter list is expected in the second week of October, followed by publication of the final list in the first week of November.
District administrations and municipal returning officers have been asked to inspect polling stations and ensure minimum facilities. The draft and final polling-station lists are expected to follow the broad schedule of the electoral rolls. Sector arrangements are to be put in place by the first week of October, with sector officers required to familiarise themselves with the polling stations under their responsibility and assess available facilities.
The commission will separately issue guidelines for identifying sensitive booths and arranging security. It has directed coordination between the administration and police. Municipal returning officers will appoint presiding and polling officers under government rules, while districts have also been asked to monitor the submission of election expenditure accounts by candidates from previous municipal elections.
The Model Code of Conduct will come into force after the polling date is formally announced. The State Election Commission has instructed district magistrates, municipal returning officers and other election authorities to complete preparatory work within the prescribed deadlines and maintain close coordination.
The exercise comes ahead of the expiry of the terms of the boards of 112 more municipalities early next year. Including the municipalities where elections are pending, elections to 127 civic bodies may have to be completed over the next nine months, making the coordination of voter rolls, personnel, polling infrastructure and security a major administrative task for the state and the commission.
