Kolkata, Sept. 23 -- About 33 per cent of seats in the upcoming polls in Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) will be reserved for women.
This has been a significant step by the Suvendu Adhikari government. Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Howrah Municipal Corporation are the two major urban civic bodies that will go to polls by the end of 2026 with a substantial number of wards reserved for women candidates.
As per the draft delimitation proposal for KMC, the total number of wards is set to increase to 209 from the current 144. Out of the proposed 209 wards, 70 will be reserved for women, accounting for over 33 per cent of the total. Similarly, in HMC, the number of wards is slated to increase to 68 from the current 50. Out of these, 23 will be reserved for women, which comes to nearly 34 per cent. The preparatory process for the elections in both civic bodies has already begun. Elections to form new boards in KMC and HMC are likely to be held in November this year, immediately after the festive season beginning with Durga Puja next month.
Sources said that in the first phase, the polls for the Howrah Municipal Corporation, along with the KMC, are expected to be held, and then gradually, polling for 126 civic bodies would follow.
However, an official involved in the process said the excitement usually associated with civic polls is missing this time, largely because of the lack of enthusiasm among the two factions of the Trinamool Congress, which is officially the principal opposition party in West Bengal. Political observers feel it is uncertain whether the two factions of the Trinamool Congress will be able to field candidates in all wards of both KMC and HMC.
Meanwhile, Industries Minister Tapas Roy, along with party leader Shisir Bajoria, met State Election Commissioner Krishna Gupta on Tuesday to discuss the timely holding of the municipal polls. Bajoria said that they had come to plead with the SEC for free, fair and violence-free polls.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.