Stung by a Calcutta High Court order directing the Bengal Government to complete election process to the seven municipalities of Asansol, Raniganj, Jamuria, Rajarhaat-Gopalpur, Bidhannagar, Bally and Kulti by June 16, the State had appealed before the Supreme Court to postpone polls on grounds that the exercise would jeopardise its plans to upgrade these civic boards into corporations.
The matter was likely to be heard on Tuesday. The High Court had passed its order fixing June 16 as the deadline for holding elections way back in mid-April as the elections to these boards had long been overdue.
Apex court vacation Bench of Justice AK Sikri and Justice Uday Umesh lalit on Monday agreed to hear the matter on Tuesday after senior counsel Kapil Sibal mentioned the matter for an early hearing.
However, in absence of any direction from the apex court setting aside the High Court order the State Election Commission on Monday went ahead with issuing a notification giving dates for the polls, SEC sources said.
The Opposition which had been demanding for early holding of polls contended that the reason behind clubbing these municipalities into bigger corporations were completely political. “The Trinamool knows that it might lose in some of these municipalities so it is trying to make them into corporation and demarcate new areas to gain majority” Abdul Mannan Congress leader said.
Meanwhile in a separate development, the left Front on Monday roared back to power in Siliguri even as its mayoral candidate and former State Minister Ashok Bhattacharya won the mayoral elections by 24-16 votes.
The formation of the board by the left is viewed as a positive development for the Marxists in north Bengal ahead of the next year’s Assembly elections.