Kolkata’s first ward delimitation in 4 decades: What it means for voters

3 min readJul 14, 2026 02:52 PM IST

Officials said the draft notification is likely around July 31, after which objections and suggestions will be invited before the final notification is issued.

The delimitation exercise has begun in West Bengal for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC). The exercise would add 56 wards to the civic body. The exercise could reshape the city’s demographic balance and reshaping political equations ahead of the civic polls slated for November. For voters, this would mean an even distribution of votes as opposed to the current uneven demographic numbers, as per news agency PTI.

This is the first delimitation exercise in the KMC since 1984 and is central to the government’s plan to hold civic polls before the end of November and install a new board before the present administrator-run arrangement ends on December 7, PTI reported.

Delimitation timeline

Working on a timeline set by Chief Minister Adhikari, the KMC administration has asked the committees entrusted with redrawing ward boundaries to submit their recommendations by July 27.

The Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Department is expected to publish the draft delimitation notification by the end of the month.

KMC Administrator and Municipal Commissioner Smita Pandey said, “The delimitation committees will submit their report by July 27. The draft notification will be published thereafter in accordance with the prescribed schedule.”

Officials said the draft notification is likely around July 31, after which objections and suggestions will be invited before the final notification is issued.

Expansion from 144 to 200 wards

The exercise will expand the civic body’s strength from 144 to 200 wards. Each ward will be designed to have roughly 16,000 to 18,000 voters, the PTI report said.

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While the corporation’s 16 boroughs will remain unchanged, each will accommodate more wards under the revised arrangement. Polling booths and electoral parts will remain intact, with only ward boundaries being reorganised.

Officials said the current delimitation exercise would be in consonance with demographic changes the city has witnessed over the past four decades.

To complete the exercise within the timeline, the KMC has constituted a two-tier mechanism comprising a 10-member Central Delimitation Committee and 16 borough-level committees.

The borough panels are examining ward boundaries, population distribution, geographical contiguity and administrative convenience before forwarding their recommendations to the central committee, which will prepare the final proposal.

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The delimitation will not affect property ownership or civic records, officials said.

Mutation certificates issued before the delimitation will remain valid, and safeguards are being put in place to ensure municipal services and property transactions continue without disruption.