The Indian Express                    04.04.2013 

Now, cloud over municipal polls

With the deadlock over the panchayat election dates going to courts, there are doubts whether municipal election for the 13 municipalities, scheduled to be held in June end could get delayed too.

The tenure of 13 municipalities is coming to an end by June. Hence the elections should be held before that. Among the 13 municipalities, the tenure of nine is ending by June. They are Cooch Behar, Haldibari, Mekhligunj, Alipurduar in Jalpaiguri district, Chakdah in Nadia, Dalkhola in North Dinajpur, Balurghat in South Dinajpur, Panihati and Habra in North 24-Parganas and Diamond Harbour in South 24-Parganas, Dubrajpur in Birbhum, East and West Midnapore.

There are four other municipalities — Howrah ,Krishnagar ,Behrampore and Jhargram — whose tenure will end in November.

Sources in the state election commission, which is locked into a battle with the Trinamool Congress government over the panchayat poll schedule, said that till now four letters have been passed between the two over the holding of the municipal polls in June.

In the first letter sent to the government in the first week of December, the commission expressed its willingness to conduct the poll as the tenure of the municipal bodies are ending in the end of June. Although the state government has agreed to the proposal, till now they have not sent the dates confirming the municipal election.

Tapas Roy, secretary, state election commission, admitted that due to the deadlock over the panchayat elections, the municipal polls could be delayed.

He, however, added that the state government will look into the issue soon.

SEC keeps mum on TMC's all-party meet proposal

KOLKATA: The state election commission, which has moved court against the state government over the scheduling of panchayat polls, on Wednesday refused to comment on the proposal made by Trinamool Congress to convene an all-party meeting to resolve the issue. "We can not make any comment on something that was uttered at a public rally. There has to be a formal communication. Unless that is made we can not say anything," said Meera Pandey, state election commissioner. Both CPM and Congress said since the matter was sub-judice, there could not be any all-party meeting.