New Delhi: The polling for 108 municipalities is underway in West Bengal for 2,271 wards. The voting began at 7 AM and would conclude at 5 PM in the evening. Around 95 lakh voters would decide the fate of 8,160 candidates. Long queues of voters were seen on polling stations as people came out to cast their votes early morning.
The voting has begun under tight security. According to a report by news agency PTI, 44,000 police personnel have been deployed for the civic body polls with at least one armed officer at each polling station.
A total of 135 observers, including 10 senior observers and 108 general observers are assigned the duty to conduct smooth elections in the state.
The 25 civic bodies in West Bengal go to the polls today across 24 Paraganas. This is the biggest civic body election being held in the state as it was being kept on hold for a long time due to the covid-19 pandemic.
Currently, the Trinamool Congress rules the municipal corporations, and is contesting against BJP, CPI(M) led Left Front, and Congress.
As per a report by PTI, polling was not held in 103 wards as only one candidate each filed the nomination, who all were declared uncontested winners. Most of them were from TMC. The results of these elections will be announced on March 2.
Polling for four municipal corporations — Bidhannagar, Siliguri, Chandernagore, and Asansol — was held on February 12. The results of these elections were declared on February 14. In these elections, TMC had a clear win.