The Calcutta High Court has directed the state Election Commission to consider postponement of four civic polls in view of the surge in Covid-19 cases across the state.
The court was hearing a plea that sought deferment of the four Municipal Corporations for four to six weeks. “They should be held once the situation is improved,” the plea said.
The court issued an order while pointing out that the “recent Kolkata Municipal Elections were not good since the cases of Covid infected persons have risen thereafter”.
Elections for four municipal corporations — Siliguri Municipal Corporation, Chandernagore Municipal Corporation, Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation and Asansol Municipal Corporation — are scheduled to take place January 22 this year.
The state Election Commission has now been directed “to cancel/modify/amend the notification dated 28th of December, 2021”.
The state Election Commission needs to respond within 48 hours, the court order said.
West Bengal reported 23,467 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, pushing the state’s overall caseload to 18,41,050, the health department said on Thursday. Twenty-six more Covid deaths were recorded in the state, following which the toll climbed to 19,985.
The positivity rate in the state rose to 32.13 per cent from 30.86 per cent on Wednesday.
Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/india/story/calcutta-hc-directs-bengal-ec-consider-postponementcivic-polls-1900001-2022-01-14
