The West Bengal State Election Commission on Monday announced its decision to postpone the civic polls.
State Election Commissioner Saurabh Kumar Das, after meeting representatives of the political parties, said that a decision in this regard will be taken after a review of the situation after a few days.
Mr. Das also cited the example of Andhra Pradesh where local elections have been delayed.
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Parties meet SEC
Earlier in the day, major political parties in West Bengal had urged the State Election Commission to postpone the upcoming civic polls.
“In the wake of the crisis, we will appeal to the State Election Commission to defer the upcoming municipal elections. In fighting this pandemic virus, political parties must stand together with the people we represent,” a statement from the Trinamool Congress said.
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State BJP president Dilip Ghosh said that the party would support the decision of deferring the polls.
“We are ready for polls, but in the wake of this crisis, if the State government and SEC take a decision, we will support it,” he said.
The Left and Congress leaderships are also willing to support the decision.
State Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar had also advised the Commission to take note of the totality of the situation while deciding the dates for the polls.
“Post my interaction with the State Election Commissioner and my subsequent communication to him, I am confident that the SEC would take an appropriate call,” he said.
Elections to several civic bodies, including the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, were likely to be held in next few weeks and the parties have already hit the campaign mode.
Session cut short
The West Bengal Assembly decided to cut short the ongoing budget session.
Speaker Biman Banerjee held an all-party meeting during the day and informed the House that the session will end after meeting on Tuesday.
The Assembly session was likely to continue till March 26.
The Raj Bhawan in the State also decided to reschedule all programmes.
During the day, the State Bar Association also decided that lawyers will not take part in any judicial proceedings till March 21 as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19.