KOLKATA: A resident of Kolkata’s Kasba area moved the Calcutta High Court on Monday challenging the delimitation of wards in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), barely a month before civic polls scheduled for the end of November.
The petitioner has sought cancellation of the delimitation process, alleging that factors such as ward topography, population discrepancies and differences in ward areas and boundaries were not adequately considered.
Advocate Shamim Ahmed, appearing for the petitioner, brought the matter to the attention of Justice Aryak Dutt of the Special Leave Bench. The Chief Justice later approved the filing of the petition, which is likely to be heard on October 28.
“The court will consider all these issues and take its decision,” Ahmed told a news portal.
In August, the West Bengal Assembly passed bills increasing the number of wards in the KMC from 144 to 209 and in the Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) from 50 to 68.
The delimitation exercise had earlier triggered objections from the CPI(M), which alleged political motives and claimed that minority votes were being selectively split by dividing neighbourhoods between wards.
“Political motive is behind this delimitation,” CPI(M) Bengal leadership alleged, questioning the criteria used to create the proposed 209 wards. The party claimed that houses along narrow, 4-5ft roads had been divided between two wards, alleging that “behind this is a plan to selectively divide minority votes”.
The CPI(M) also questioned the absence of stakeholder consultations and public notification. “Which booth has been attached to which ward? How will people know?” a state leader of the CPI-M asked, alleging that the corporation had failed to provide satisfactory answers.
The party further questioned why the exercise was completed before the ongoing Census. It demanded ward- or Assembly constituency-wise all-party meetings, an extension of the September 3 deadline for objections, and the publication of delimitation documents in newspapers, besides providing hard copies to political parties.
Meanwhile, a memorandum signed by the CPI(M), Congress, the Trinamool Congress faction belonging to the Mamata Banerjee camp and representatives of citizen forums was submitted to the West Bengal State Election Commission (WBSEC), seeking a halt to civic polls in the state.
The memorandum cited the deletion of a large number of voters from electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and urged the commission to hold elections to the KMC, HMC and other municipal bodies only after the special re-enrolment drive and Special Summary Revision (SSR) announced by the Election Commission of India.
The final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on January 4, 2027, according to the national poll panel.