West Bengal government to approach Supreme Court challenging the Calcutta High Court interim order staying the notification for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) elections amid ongoing delimitation disputes regarding ward numbers.

West Bengal Government to Challenge Election Stay in Supreme Court

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday said his government would approach the Supreme Court against the Calcutta High Court's interim order staying the notification for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) elections. Speaking to ANI, Adhikari said that "We will approach the Supreme Court against this. I will wait till November 13. After that, I will appoint coordinators for all 209 wards," Adhikari said.

Taking a swipe at those approaching the court, he said, "Those who are destined to lose the election go to court, while those who are set to win focus on election preparations." "We are preparing for the election. We are going to win," he added.

Legal Battle Over KMC Polls

The Calcutta High Court on Friday issued an interim order restraining the State Election Commission (SEC) from issuing any notifications related to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) elections until the pending case is resolved. The directive was issued by a vacation division bench comprising Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya and Justice Arjun Roy Mukherjee.

The court's interim order comes amid legal proceedings concerning the fresh delimitation of wards in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. As per the directive, the State Election Commission cannot issue any notifications concerning the municipal elections until the matter is finally resolved by the court.

Delimitation Dispute Background

This comes after the West Bengal Congress wrote to the State's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) seeking correction of alleged irregularities in the delimitation of wards. A petition was filed earlier challenging the decision of the West Bengal government to increase the number of wards in KMC. The number has been increased from 144 to 209 ahead of the upcoming polls. On this basis, the Calcutta High Court has now said that the State Election Commission can't call for KMC polls until the delimitation matter is decided. (ANI)

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