Kolkata: Queries about delimitation were directed at state officials during an all-party meeting at Alipore on Tuesday where eight parties were handed hard copies of the draft electoral roll for KMC polls.The Left, Congress and Mamata Trinamool alleged that the state brushed aside their objections to the way ward boundaries were redrawn and seemed determined to go ahead with polls without factoring in their concerns.Subrata Dutta, Kolkata district secretariat member of CPM, said the state had yet to publish any final notification announcing the redrawn ward boundaries. The number of KMC wards has gone up to 209 from 144 following delimitation. “We attended hearings at KMC where we raised objections about the revision of several ward boundaries, but we never got to know the outcome of the objections we raised,” said Dutta.Ashutosh Chatterjee, who represented Congress, said the “delimitation as well as the reservation of wards was rushed through without due diligence”.“We asked them the number of total electors, but they could not give it. They did not even have the total number of electors of 2021 KMC polls,” said Baiswanor Chattopadhyay, the south Kolkata district president of Mamata Trinamool.“This is an administrative decision and we won’t make any comment,” said BJP MLA Ritesh Tiwari, who is part of a committee formed by the party for KMC polls.Sources said eight parties — BJP, CPM, Forward Bloc, Congress, All India Trinamool Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party, NPP and Aam Aadmi Party — were invited on Monday.“The draft roll was published on Monday, and the final roll will be published on Nov 12,” state election commissioner Krishna Gupta said on Tuesday.If the final electoral roll is published on Nov 12 and notifications are issued on Nov 2, which is most likely, the schedule would allow the elections to be held before Nov 30, the official added.In election rules, it is not mandatory to publish the final electoral roll before the announcement of elections. However, every contesting candidate must be provided with the roll, which is frozen after the completion of the withdrawal process on the last day of nominations.“In municipal elections, the nomination window remains open for seven days after the publication of the poll notification. One day is reserved for scrutiny and another two days for withdrawal,” a senior official said.A petition has been filed by an elector before the bench of Justice Aryak Dutt of Calcutta High Court challenging the revision of ward boundaries.
