BJP begins process for selecting candidates for KMC polls

Emphasising that the party will contest on all the 209 wards of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), the Bharatiya Janata Party started the process of selecting candidates for the elections to the city civic body.

Elections to Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) are scheduled in November 2026. Enthused with the success in the bypolls at Nandigram and Rejinagar the BJP has started the process of selection of candidates.

Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar, who has been assigned the responsibility of civic polls said on Sunday (October 11, 2026), the BJP will contest all 209 wards in the upcoming civic polls. There were some remarks by the rebel faction of Mamata Banerjee that they want to ally with the BJP, something which the BJP leaders have not given much heed.

Addressing a press conference, Mr. Majumdar said that the party is putting up drop boxes at its office in central Kolkata 6 Murlidhar Sen Lane so that people can submit their resume to contest upcoming civic polls. The BJP leader said candidates would be chosen through an internal process, and that winning probability, public image and acceptability in local areas would be the key criteria.

The BJP leader appealed to youth to come forward to contest the civic polls and take up the responsibility of administering KMC .“We are appealing to the youth to come forward. They will be engaged in dialogue with us so that they can contribute to the city’s development. We want start-up development, skill improvement, sports, cultural activities and an advanced public transport system. The youth will emerge as one of the driving forces,” Mr. Majumdar said.

The BJP leader said that the party will build a transparent municipal corporation where no promoter or developer will run a civic body.

After the BJP won the West Bengal Assembly polls earlier this year, the Mayor of KMC Firhad Hakim resigned and an administrator was appointed to run the civic body. The KMC has been run by the Trinamool Congress since 2008 and before that by the Left Front. With the Trinamool Congress divided and no Opposition unity, the municipal polls will give the BJP a chance to control the civic bodies in Kolkata and Howrah.

The West Bengal Legislative Assembly on August 12 passed two bills paving the way for delimitation of wards of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Howrah Municipal Corporation. With the passage of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the Howrah Municipal Corporation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2026, during special session of the Assembly, the number of wards in Kolkata municipal area will increase from 144 to 209, and wards in the Howrah municipal area will increase from 50 to 68.