Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections will be held by Dec 7: Bengal CM

Kolkata, June 15 (IANS) Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday made it clear that the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) elections will be held within the next six months.

The Chief Minister said that a newly elected board will be formed in the KMC by December 7. He announced while attending a cleanliness drive programme at the civic body.

The political equation in the state has begun to change since the change of government. The former ruling party, the Trinamool Congress, is in turmoil amid internal conflicts. The party lost control of KMC after several councillors resigned from their posts and the subsequent resignation of former state minister Firhad Hakim as Mayor of Kolkata.

Although the term of the KMC is still set for December this year, the municipal board was dissolved due to the Mayor's resignation.

Therefore, the state Municipal Affairs Department appointed Smita Pandey, the KMC Commissioner, as the administrator to run the civic body. Until the municipal elections are held, the state government will run the municipality through the administrator.

Many had wondered whether the Suvendu Adhikari government would hold elections in the KMC and form a new board before December. However, the Chief Minister announced that the board will be formed by December 7.

The last KMC election was held in December 2021. The then-ruling Trinamool had formed the municipal board by winning 137 out of 144 wards. The opposition had alleged at the time that Trinamool had won the elections through widespread electoral malpractice.

After the change of power in the state, a crisis arose in KMC. Several Trinamool councillors have already been arrested on various charges. A section of councillors complained about not being able to work “independently”.

Subsequently, Firhad Hakim resigned as Mayor of Kolkata, stating that he could not work in that atmosphere.

After that, the Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Department issued a notice to KMC, asking why the municipal board should not be dissolved after the Mayor’s resignation. It also asked the civic body to inform the public within 3 days who the new Mayor would be.

However, even after three days, KMC had not announced the name of the new Mayor. That is why the state government dissolved the board and appointed an administrator.

--IANS

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