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Bengal poll panel defers civic elections amid coronavirus threat
The municipal elections were billed as an acid test for the TMC and the BJP ahead of next year’s Assembly polls.
The West Bengal state election commission on Monday deferred the statewide municipal elections due to the threat of coronavirus.
“We are postponing the elections due to the situation over coronavirus. We were fully prepared but the present situation is not conducive for conducting the elections. We will review the situation after 15 days and decide on the election schedule thereafter,” said Saurabh Das, state election commissioner, after convening an all-party meeting at his office.
All political parties in the state have supported the decision.
Elections were scheduled in about 100 municipalities and municipal corporations across the state, including Kolkata Municipal Corporation, in April.
During the meeting on Monday, all political parties supported the poll panel’s proposal for deferring the elections.
On Sunday, the state’s ruling party Trinamool Congress (TMC) and principal opponent, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said that they would suggest the state election commission to defer the elections. On Monday, the poll panel itself placed the proposal before the political parties.
The elections were billed as an acid test for the TMC and the BJP ahead of next year’s Assembly polls.
The campaign for the municipal elections had already started and over the past few days, leaders of BJP and TMC had attended events that drew hundreds of people. The scare about coronavirus and warnings against large congregations had prompted several political commentators to demand postponement of the elections.
In a statement on Sunday, the TMC said, “Elections will come and go. Politics must take a back seat when society is faced with such a great threat. Political parties must come together and join hands to ensure social well-being.”
Over a hundred people have tested positive for coronavirus in India. Bengal has not yet reported any positive case.
On Sunday, Andhra Pradesh state election commission postponed elections to rural and urban local bodies for six weeks in view of the coronavirus threat. The elections were scheduled to be held between March 21 and March 29.
