Bengal Congress writes to poll authorities over ‘discrepancies’ in Kolkata civic body’s delimitation, booth maps

West Bengal Congress general secretary Ashutosh Chatterjee (centre). Credit: X/@INCWestBengal

The Congress unit in West Bengal on Wednesday (November 4, 2026) sought correction of discrepancies in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s (KMC) ward delimitation and booth maps ahead of the civic polls, writing to the State’s Chief Electoral Officer, the State Election Commission and the Municipal Commissioner.

“It has been found that during the delimitation process we were called by the concerned hearing officers in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation as per our objections wherein strangely wrong maps were used for the hearing process,” the letter said.

The letter, written by the party’s State general secretary Ashutosh Chatterjee, also questioned why incorrect maps were used during the delimitation hearings. It said such methods led to “fabrication” and that relying on them “indicates” ulterior motives behind the exercise.

The Congress alleged that new maps had subsequently been sent to the officers conducting hearings on booth-related objections and the draft electoral roll, rendering the KMC’s August 22, 2026 publication invalid. The party said it had not been informed of the changes and claimed that the discrepancies in booth details across several wards had deprived it of the opportunity to appeal, alleging that the process had undermined democratic procedures.

“Ward Boundaries need immediate revision as maps are not proper which needs updating,” the letter added. The Congress leader also asked for the results of their claims and objections that they had filed before, which they claim have not been shared with them to date.

In the August 22 notification, the KMC published a notification August 22 shared the draft list of 209 wards, changing from 144 wards. However, the final list of wards has not been published yet.

“The part numbers included and removed in various wards have been changed even after the draft was shared with us. The maps used were also approx, and then what was the basis for you drawing these maps? Then the entire hearing process was fake; that is why you have never replied to our claims and objections. This is such a serious matter, people will lose all trust in the process,” Mr Chatterjee, who filed the letter told The Hindu on Wednesday (November 4, 2026). He further added that they now no longer have any official time left to file claims and objections, and the window closed even before they had complete information about the delimitation process.

Previously, the State Congress leadership had also written to the authorities to take corrective actions to restore the names of the 1.59 lakh deleted voters in the Kolkata and Howrah Municipal Corporation areas before the upcoming civic polls.

The civic polls in these two municipalities are likely to be held in the next few weeks. However, no dates have been announced.