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Calcutta High Court today directed that election to 12 municipalities in the state be held on September 21 and that of Midnapore in November, upholding the proposition of the SEC over that of the state government.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Joymalyo Bagchi, accepting the submission of the State Election Commission, directed that polls for 12 municipalities in the state be held on September 21, while that of Midnapore Municipality be held on November 22.
The SEC and the state government had differed over the dates for election to the municipalities. It had earlier differed over the number of phases of the just-concluded panchayat elections and deployment of central forces and fought a legal battle over it.
A writ petition had been filed by lawyer Basabi Roy Chowdhury before the court, praying that election to the municipal bodies be held early to avoid appointment of administrators as the term of the elected bodies for the 13 municipalities has expired on June 29, so as to ensure that these function properly and without hindrance.
