Kolkata: Opposition leaders from the CPM, Mamata TMC and Congress in a letter, have urged the state election commissioner (SEC) to defer elections to the Kolkata and Howrah municipal corporations until the special summary revision (SSR) and re-enrolment of voters left out during the SIR are completed.“In view of the large number of eligible electors deleted from the electoral roll under SIR, it is our humble submission that the elections to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) and any other municipal corporation or municipality be held only after the conclusion of the special re enrolment drive and SSR,” the letter states.Signatories include Bengal Congress president Subhankar Sarkar, TMC MP Saugata Roy, former CPM MP Samik Lahiri and former Rajya Sabha MP and retired IAS officer Jawhar Sircar, besides civil rights workers.The draft electoral roll under SSR will be published on Nov 12, with the final roll due on Jan 4. The revision aims to enrol eligible voters and accept advance applications for qualifying dates in April, July and Oct 2027.The letter also urges the SEC to include appellants whose cases remain pending before SIR appellate tribunals.BJP MLA Ritesh Tiwari said the timing of the polls was the SEC’s prerogative, adding that his party would win whether elections were held in Nov or after Jan 4. “We want all eligible voters to be able to vote, but when elections will be held is solely the decision of the SEC,” he said.Split TMC gets one invite for KMC draft rollsThe South 24 Parganas district administration has invited Trinamool to collect hard copies of the draft electoral rolls for the KMC elections, sending a letter to the address registered under the party’s name.State govt sources said they were yet to receive any formal communication from the SEC regarding the two factions of the TMC. The administration, therefore, sent the official invite under the previously registered party name.
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