The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday directed the state BJP and another petitioner to file affidavits stating their views on the West Bengal State Election Commission's plans for holding municipal elections in phases, by Wednesday. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice R Bharadwaj also asked the SEC and the West Bengal government to file affidavits in reply to the petitioners' contentions by Friday, when the matter will be taken up for hearing again.
The SEC has said counting of votes cannot be taken up after polls to all municipalities, owing to paucity of EVMs, and that it needs to be done after completion of each phase. BJP's counsel on Tuesday submitted that the SEC can take EVMs on loan from the Election Commission for conducting the elections to all municipal bodies on a single day or hold the counting exercise together.
While the Kolkata Municipal Corporation election is scheduled for December 19, polls to 111 other civic bodies in the state are due, and the SEC has said it plans to hold these in six to eight phases by May, 2022. The BJP in its petition has prayed that elections to all municipal bodies in the state be held on a single day.
BJP state vice-president Pratap Banerjee, the petitioner, prayed if this is not possible, then simultaneous counting of polls to all civic bodies be held so that the result of one municipality may not affect the election of another. The high court is also simultaneously hearing another petition for holding elections to all municipal bodies, where these are pending, as soon as possible.
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