Howrah, May 07 — The path for holding elections to the Howrah Municipal Corporation has finally been cleared after West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose gave his assent to the Howrah Municipality Amendment Bill. The last civic elections in Howrah were held in 2013, and now, nearly 12 years later, fresh elections seem imminent.
According to sources, the State Election Commission has completed all necessary preparations for conducting the polls and is now only awaiting a go-ahead from the state government. Once the government grants approval, the Commission is ready to begin the election process without delay.
To recall, in 2015, the Bally Municipality was merged into the Howrah Municipal Corporation after its 35 wards were reorganized into 16. However, in 2021, after returning to power, the Mamata Banerjee-led government passed a bill to separate Bally from Howrah once again. Then-Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar had objected to the bill and refused to give his assent. Even after Dhankhar became the Vice President, and an acting governor took charge, the bill remained unsigned.
Ananda Bose took office as Governor in November 2022, and while there were expectations of improved relations between him and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the bill’s approval remained pending for quite some time. Eventually, last week, the Governor signed off on five bills, including the one related to Howrah, reigniting hopes for long-overdue municipal elections.
The state’s Municipal and Urban Development Department, overseen by Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, is supervising the election process. Hakim expressed satisfaction following the Governor’s approval, though no official date for the elections has been announced yet.
Government sources indicate that not only Howrah, but municipalities like Durgapur and Pujali are also awaiting elections. A comprehensive review of all these pending civic bodies will be conducted before final decisions are made. Meanwhile, speculation continues that the next West Bengal Assembly elections may take place between March and May next year, increasing the political significance of holding early municipal polls.
