Over 37 lakh people are voting today to elect councilors to 144 seats in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. 90 other municipalities across West Bengal go to polls next week. Together, they are being billed by many as the semi-final ahead of the assembly elections in West Bengal next year.
In the 2010 polls to the Kolkata Corporation, the Trinamool Congress had won a huge majority and the Left parties had come a distant second. This time, the fight seems three-cornered, with the BJP trying to make its presence felt. The Congress is also trying to retain a toehold in the city.
Last time, there were 141 seats, this time, after demarcation, that's up to 144. Results will be declared on April 28.
There is tight security for the polls, with at least 30,000 security men deployed across the city. Four police control rooms have also been set up.
There have been poll-related clashes in some pockets of the city in the run up to the elections. At the last minute, there was a request from the state government for Central forces which declined, reportedly because it came too late. Only three companies posted in the state already have been deployed. In the 2010 polls, 70 companies were deployed in the city.
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