Polls to 4 West Bengal MCs deferred to February 12

New Delhi, January 15

The West Bengal Election Commission on Saturday postponed polls to four municipal corporations by three weeks to February 12 in the wake of rising Covid-19 cases.

According to a notification issued by the SEC, elections to Siliguri, Chandannagar, Bidhannagar and Asansol municipal corporations will now be held on February 12 instead of January 22.

The SEC said it decided to defer the polls to comply with the High Court order asking the SEC to consider deferment of the polls in view of the pandemic situation.

Earlier in the day, the state government sent a letter to the SEC, giving its consent to reschedule the election dates.

The postponement was welcomed by Abhishek Banerjee, Mamata Banerjee’s nephew.

“I wholeheartedly thank the High Court & SEC for postponing elections by three weeks in the state. Let us work unitedly to ensure that the positivity rate in Bengal is brought down to less than 3 per cent in the next three weeks. The need of the hour is to strengthen the fight against #COVID!” Abhishek said in a tweet.

While contestants from all parties have filed their nominations, the deadline for which was January 3, the TMC has also published separate manifestos for the four corporations going to the polls.

Shamik Bhattacharya, spokesperson for the BJP, accused the SEC of disobeying the High Court order. The HC had asked for minimum four to six weeks deferment, he pointed out.