The BJP will appeal to Calcutta High Court if West Bengal State Election Commission (WBSEC) will conduct polls of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) on 12 April, which has been proposed by the state government, BJP’s state president and Member of Parliament Dilip Ghosh said today. Ghosh said that the party will not get sufficient time for campaigning, if the polls will be conducted on 12 April.

He said that state BJP has already urged the West Bengal State Election Commission (WBSEC) for extending the election date for municipal election especially for Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and Howrah Municipal Corporation. “Everybody should follow the norms. We already urged WBSEC for deferring the date of poll so all the political parties get sufficient time for poll campaigning. If our appeal will be ignored we must go to the High Court demanding justice,” he said.

The state secretariat Nabanna has recently proposed to the West Bengal State Election Commission (WBSEC) seeking its approval to hold elections in Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) on 12 April. The State administrative headquarters Nabanna also stated that more than 100 other municipalities in districts will go for polls on 26 April. However TMC’s general secretary Partha Chatterjee said that the BJP is afraid of its defeat so the party wants that poll should be conducted later.

“The BJP has no base in the state. Neither the party has mass contact. So it is demanding for late civic poll,” he said. Meanwhile BJP’s state president said that ahead of civic elections, former BJP national president and Union home minister Amit Shah will address a rally of the saffron party at the Shaheed Minar ground especially to inform people regarding the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and its relevance.

The BJP will also felicitate Shah for the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The BJP, which is facing a massive anti-CAA and NRC campaigning especially by the Trinamul Congress, Congress and Left Front in the state, is all set to launch massive pro-CAA campaign in the state to woo the voters of the several municipalities and Assembly poll next year. “Union home minister Amit Shah is likely to address a rally in Kolkata on 1 March when he will be felicitated by the West Bengal BJP unit for the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). And his public address will also be helpful for us ahead of the civic poll in the state,” said Ghosh.

The rally will be organised at the Shaheed Minar ground on 1 March. Shah had last visited Bengal on 1 October, when he had addressed a seminar on the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) at Netaji Indoor stadium. The Bill became an Act after it got Parliament’s nod and the President’s approval. The new citizenship law has emerged as the latest flashpoint in the state, with the TMC opposing the contentious legislation tooth and nail, and the BJP pressing for its implementation. “Amit Shahji will be felicitated on 1 March and then he will address a rally. There is a huge support for CAA, which could create an impact in the upcoming civic poll,” a senior state BJP leader said.