Opposition leaders, activists urge SEC to delay Bengal civic polls till SSR to enrol voters is complete

In a memorandum submitted to the SEC, they said that 100% of the appeals in Kolkata and 99% of the appeals in Howrah, so far disposed by the Tribunal have been decided in favour of inclusion. File photo | Photo Credit: PTI

The delegation, in its memorandum to the State Election Commissioner, seek January 2027 dates; say that around 1.2 lakh appeals for inclusion under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation area are pending before the Tribunal

Several Opposition leaders and activists on Wednesday (October 28, 2026) met the State Election Commissioner Krishna Gupta and urged to delay the upcoming municipality polls in West Bengal till the ongoing Special Summary Revision (SSR) exercise is not over. 

Amid the recent protests across the country against the special intensive revision (SIR) and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the Election Commission of India (ECI) declared the SSR exercise on October 15 across 17 States and Union Territories to include the new voters and also the ones left out during SIR.

The draft roll of the SSR is likely to be published on November 12 while the final roll will be out on January 4.

Editorial | A necessary corrective: On the SSR, the special summary revision of electoral rolls

However, the election for the civic bodies is likely to be held in several municipalities including in Kolkata and Howrah that worried the leaders.

Citing the large-scale deletion of voters in the State during the SIR, the delegation of Opposition leaders and civil rights groups said that around 1.2 lakh appeals for the inclusion under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) area are pending before the Tribunal. The corresponding figure is about 39,000 within the jurisdiction of Howrah Municipal Corporation.

In a memorandum submitted to the SEC, they said that 100% of the appeals in Kolkata and 99% of the appeals in Howrah, so far disposed by the Tribunal have been decided in favour of inclusion.

"Hence, excluding around 1.6 takh Tribunal Appellants in KMC and HMC jurisdictions from the electoral roll for the above-mentioned municipal corporation or municipality elections-would disenfranchise them for the second time, after the Assembly polls," the delegation said in its memorandum to Mr. Gupta.

They have urged the SEC to conduct the civic bodies elections only after the completion of the SSR exercise on January 4 or such other extended date as decided by ECI. Meanwhile, they have also requested the SEC to excercise its statutory powers to include the names of all Tribunal appellants to the electoral rolls of KMC and HMC and other municipal corporations or municipalities for the election. 

The letter included the signatures of Congress State president Subhankar Sarkar, MP Saugata Roy, former Rajya Sabha MP Jawahar Sircar, Communist Party of (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) leader Palash Ghosh, advocate and activist Avik Saha, economoist Prasenjit Bose, human rights activist Sujato Bhadra etc.

Published - October 29, 2026 11:59 am IST