Nominations for Bengal polls today

The withdrawal of candidature will be done from April 26 to April 28.

Congress activists protest against panchayat poll violence in front of State Election Commission office in Kolkata. File photo

The West Bengal State Election Commission (SEC) late on Saturday announced that the fresh date for filing nominations for the panchayat elections will be Monday, April 23. The late night development followed daylong meetings with political parties.

However, the SEC is yet to discuss the dates of polling with the State government.

The elections were earlier scheduled to be held on May 1, 3 and 5. On Friday, the Calcutta High Court directed the SEC to “issue a fresh notification extending the day/date for filing nominations.”

Saturday’s notification states that nominations will be filed on April 23 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the scrutiny of nominations will take place on April 25. The withdrawal of candidature will be done from April 26 to April 28.

“In pursuance of the order of the Hon’ble High Court of Calcutta…and upon consultation with the State and the major collective stake holders on 21.04.2018, the West Bengal State Election Commission, hereby appoints the extended day/date of making nominations, the date for scrutiny of nominations received on the said extended day/date and the last date of withdrawal of candidature in the connection with the Panchyat General Elections…,” the notification states.

Speaking to

The Hindu, a senior WBSEC official said, “It is very likely that the Commission will hold a meeting with the State government on Monday to decide on fresh dates for the Panchyat polls.” He also said the Commissioner has “asked police to make strong security arrangements for filing nominations and ensure that there is no obstruction in the process.”

Meanwhile a BJP delegation met the WBSEC officials during the day and urged them to issue further clarifications regarding filing of nominations at the offices of the Block Development Officer (BDO) and the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO).

Representatives of Left parties and the Congress demanded that Central forces be deployed during nomination filing and elections.