Kolkata: A draft electorate list for KMC poll, with over 32 lakh voters in 209 wards, was published on Monday. The notification for the election is likely to be issued within a week. The draft roll will provide Kolkatans the first opportunity to know their new ward number following the delimitation exercise, which has increased the number of KMC wards from 144 to 209.A state official said that most of the wards had a voter strength of 12,000 to 18,000, with the number of voters in a booth varying between 900 and 1,200 in most cases. “There are some exceptions where the voter count in a ward is fewer than 12,000 or more than 18,000. The ward boundaries have been redrawn in such a way that the voter count remains between 12,000 and 18,000,” he said.Political parties will be handed over hard copies of the draft electoral roll on Tuesday afternoon.Notifications for elections to seven civic bodies—KMC, Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC), Bali, Haldia, Dhupguri, Kalimpong and Kurseong—are likely to be issued early next week, with the West Bengal state election commission (SEC) preparing to hold the polls in the last week of Nov. “The notifications may be issued after Oct 29, most likely on Nov 2, a Monday,” another state official said.According to the municipal elections rules, a state notification, announcing the election dates, will be followed by an SEC notification, detailing the schedule, which will specify the dates for filing nominations, scrutiny of nomination papers and withdrawal of candidature, among other stages. After the state notifies the dates for civic elections, the SEC will convene a meeting with political parties. Officials said the draft roll was unlikely to be published on any website and parties usually photocopied the rolls and distributed them among their workers.The SEC has stepped up preparations for the elections and has assured the state administration of necessary arrangements. SEC said it would adhere to the deadline set by CM Suvendu Adhikari and complete the polls to the seven civic bodies by Nov 30 so that new boards could be formed before the first week of Dec. During a visit to the KMC headquarters in June, the chief minister had said KMC would get new board by Dec 7. “During our meetings with the state administration, we said we would complete all our preparations before Oct 30 and if the govt issued the notification after Oct 29, we would have no problem in following the timeline,” an SEC official said. “According to the rules, a gap of at least 24 days is required between the date of notification and the polling day. If the notifications are issued on Nov 2, voting can easily take place before Nov 30.”
