TIWN
Kolkata, Jan 15 (TIWN) Accepting the recommendation of the Calcutta High Court to defer the election due to the rising Covid cases in West Bengal, the state election commission (SEC) has cancelled the earlier dates, and announced that the election will be held on February 12, an official said on Saturday.
In view of the prevalent Covid-19 situation in the state, the state election commission on Saturday announced that the polls to Asansol (Paschim Bardhaman), Bidhannagar (North 24 Parganas), Siliguri (Darjeeling) and Chandernagore (Hooghly) civic bodies will take place on February 12. News18.com on Saturday reported that the poll panel is scheduled to hold a meeting on the issue with state government representatives and officials from the state disaster management response team in Kolkata.
The Calcutta High Court had on Friday asked the West Bengal State Election Commission to consider postponing the civic elections in Asansol, Bidhannagar, Siliguri and Chandannagar by at least four to six weeks, giving it 48 hours to come out with its stand.
The division bench of Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava was hearing a PIL filed by one Bimal Bhattacharya, who argued that considering the escalating Covid-19 situation, the civic polls should be postponed. The PIL was filed after the state’s poll panel announced that elections in the four municipalities would be held as scheduled on January 22, and counting would take place on January 25. Sources said the state government is likely to propose that voting be deferred to February 12.
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