Inside Kolkata delimitation: Why Adhikari government moves to redraw wards before civic polls

The CDC, which is mandated to coordinate and supervise the delimitation operation through the BDCs, has been asked to submit its recommendations to the KMC Administrator by July 27 for scrutiny and finalisation of the draft proposal.

While the BJP dispensation has sought to project this as an administrative exercise meant to “correct” demographic imbalances across the city wards, some other quarters, including the Opposition, believe that it is part of the ruling party’s calculations aimed at wresting the KMC from the TMC

in the upcoming polls. The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC has already been reeling from splits and defections following its crushing loss to the BJP in the recent Assembly elections.

The then ruling TMC had swept the 2021 KMC elections, winning 134 of 144 wards as against the BJP’s three seats.

Noting that the KMC administration has proposed to create 56 new wards without increasing the number of the boroughs, several observers hold that this would serve a “dual purpose” for the BJP – administrative decentralisation as well as redrawing the electoral battlefield to ensure its upper hand.

BJP sources claim that the KMC’s proposed overhaul is based on the point that Kolkata’s demographic situation has shifted significantly over the last several years. They say that North Kolkata has witnessed stagnant or even negative population growth, whereas various belts of South and East Kolkata, along the EM Bypass and in areas such as Garia, Joka and Kasba, have seen a rise in population.

Some seats, like ward 66 in East Kolkata’s Topsia, have seen an increase in voters up to nearly 80,000, while the voter count in Shyampukur seats in North Kolkata have shrunk to barely 12,000.

In practice, this means one councillor might be struggling to manage more than 50 polling booths and a massive load of civic demands, while another one might be dealing with just a small share of that workload, KMC officials said.

Bridging this divide would be the main objective of the KMC’s delimitation, said its Administrator Smita Pandey while addressing a press conference recently. “Currently, we have wards with up to 85,000 registered voters compared to others with just 10,000 voters. We need to reduce this gap as far as practicable.”

The target now is to cap the number of voters to 16,000-18,000 on an average in each of the 200 wards, KMC sources said.

Pitching for the move, senior BJP leader and Panchayat Minister Dilip Ghosh said: “It is much required. Even in panchayats we see some bodies have 30 members while others have 10-12 members. In other states, it is limited to 2-3 members. Imagine that one councillor has 12 booths while others handle more than 52 booths. For better administration, it is very important to increase wards, then blocks, then districts.”

The BJP camp, however, notes that “fixing this entire system” would involve a long procedure. Municipal Affairs Minister Agnimitra Paul said: “It’s a long process, what is the population of each ward, how it will be done is a scientific process.”

Minority wards

Some KMC officials pointed out that the redrawing of the wards would significantly impact the minority-dominated areas. A slew of minority-dominated wards across the city would be split and some of its parts emerged with adjacent areas to bring “voter parity”. “This will deeply affect Borough XV encompassing wards 133 to 141, traditionally recognised for its high concentration of minority communities as well as some key central and eastern pockets like wards 60, 61, 62, and 64 in Boroughs VI and VII,” said an official.

The Opposition leaders accuse the Adhikari government of “splintering” such wards to “dilute” the concentration of minority voters in a bid to garner electoral dividends.

Akhruzzaman, the chief whip of the rebel Ritabrata Banerjee-led TMC faction, told The Indian Express: “The BJP government says one thing, but their intention is different. Here (in the KMC delimitation), too, they want to manage things in a way where they can sideline Muslim voters and increase their chances of winning the wards. They are targeting one community. Look at the Kolkata airport mosque – it has been there for 136 years, but now it is a problem. Suddenly, Taslima Nasreen is also being invited here. Let’s see how this delimitation of the KMC wards will help to ensure better administration.”

Delimitation play

The last comprehensive delimitation of the KMC wards was carried out during the CPI(M)-led Left Front regime, which incorporated some municipalities to raise the number of seats from 100 to 141. Under the Mamata government, three more wards from Joka were added to the KMC, taking its tally to 144.

The BJP government’s delimitation move seems to have caused disquiet among a section of the city’s residents besides the Opposition parties. Several locals are concerned that they may find their names under new wards or different polling stations. A section of workers of political parties also seem to be worried about their bases and networks.

Chief Minister Adhikari had made it clear that a new KMC would be in place, through fresh elections, by December 7.

As the KMC teams intensify their ground-level operations, collecting and assessing the demographic and geographical data before finalising their recommendations, the ruling camp has started building up its narrative that the KMC’s delimitation would result in “evenly balanced wards, more accessible councillors and an equitable distribution of public funds”.