Mamata Banerjee has to win an assembly seat by November 5 to remain the chief minister.
Bypolls to the Bhawanipur assembly constituency in West Bengal, from where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is expected to contest, will be held on September 30, the Election Commission of India announced on Saturday.
Elections will also be held in Samserganj and Jangipur assembly seats in West Bengal and Pipli in Odisha on the same date. The elections for the three seats were postponed following the death of the candidates and were later postponed in view of the second wave of COVID-19.
Counting of votes in all the four constituencies will take place on October 3. Nominations are to be filed from September 6 to 13. However, bypolls to three Lok Sabha and 31 other assembly seats have been put on hold. Ms Banerjee, who lost from Nandigram in May, has until November 5 to continue as chief minister.
The commission said in a statement that the chief secretaries of Odisha and West Bengal informed it that the situation of COVID-19 in their states was under control. The Chief Secretary of West Bengal said that the state is ready to hold elections and the flood has not affected the constituencies. “He also informed that keeping in view the administrative needs and public interest and to avoid void in the state, by-election may be held for 159-Bhabanipur, Kolkata from where Ms. Mamata Banerjee intends to contest,” the statement said. keeps.”
“Considering the constitutional requirement and the special request of the State of West Bengal, it has been decided to hold by-election in 159-Bhabanipur AC,” the statement said.
It said strict norms were imposed, including limiting indoor meetings to 30% of the permitted capacity or 200 persons, whichever is less.
The Election Commission held a meeting with state officials on Wednesday. Chief Secretaries of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and UTs of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu gave information about floods. -related constraints, festivals and the COVID-19 situation, the statement said.
“He suggested that it would be appropriate to hold the bypolls after the festive season is over,” he said.
Some states told the government’s commission as well as research bodies, predicting a possible third wave of the pandemic in October.
The commission said it has decided not to hold bypolls to 31 assembly seats and three Lok Sabha seats after considering inputs from the chief secretaries and chief election officers of the respective states.
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