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The Calcutta High Court directed the State Election Commission (SEC) and the state government to file affidavits-in-opposition to a petition by the BJP seeking that poll to all municipal bodies where they are pending, be held together on a single day.

The State government proposed phased civic body elections in Kolkata and Howrah which the West Bengal State Election Commission accepted. BJP has filed the writ petition seeking simultaneous elections in all civic bodies in Bengal in February next year. The terms of the elected boards ended over the last two years but elections were not held because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The BJP has contended that elections in more than 100 municipal bodies in the state, including municipal corporations of Kolkata and Howrah have been due for a long time and hence they should be held simultaneously without further delay.

The Bench of Chief Justice Prakash Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj noted that another similar petition is pending. The Court allowed affidavit-in-opposition to be filed before the next date of hearing, on the assurance of the State Election Commission. The matter is set for 24th November, 2021.

Pratap Banerjee v. State of W.B. & Ors.