West Bengal CM sets Kolkata civic elections for December

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced on Monday that elections for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation will be held by the first week of December, restoring an elected civic board to the city. The announcement came during his first official visit to the KMC headquarters since assuming office, an event that also launched a major citywide cleanliness drive.

The civic body has been under the administration of senior IAS officer Smita Pandey since last week, when the state government dissolved the corporation's board. This action followed the resignation of former Mayor Firhad Hakim, a Trinamool Congress MLA, on June 5. The government stated it had given the then-ruling party, which held a majority with 137 of 144 wards, a three-day window to elect a new mayor. When no successor was chosen, the board was dissolved and an administrator appointed.

Adhikari emphasized that his government's priority is to hand over the corporation to elected representatives, describing KMC services as akin to emergency services. He stated that while the existing majority party was given the opportunity to form a new board, the state government had no alternative but to intervene after the...