Delimitation and Seat Reservation Finalised as West Bengal Prepares for Seven Civic Polls: Kalimpong Municipality Set for First Election Since 2017

KalimNews, Oct 7, 2026, Kalimpong: Across West Bengal, the State Election Commission (SEC) has entered the final stretch of preparations to conduct municipal elections across seven civic bodies in late November 2026. Delimitation exercises across the state's civic jurisdictions stand completed, establishing an updated roster of wards and seat reservation quotas formally notified by the government. 

The tentative polling window under active consideration is November 28–29, 2026, with counting likely scheduled for December 2 and the entire statutory exercise slated to wrap up by December 7, 2026. While formal notification is anticipated by the end of October, the civic bodies slated for polls include: Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Howrah Municipal Corporation, Bally Municipality, Haldia Municipality, Dhupguri Municipality, Kalimpong Municipality and Kurseong Municipality.

In Kalimpong, where citizens last cast their municipal ballots in 2017, the forthcoming exercise marks an end to a prolonged administrative interim. Gearing up early, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) became the first political organization to initiate formal ground preparations. During a key organisational meeting, the party instituted a 16-member Election Coordinating Committee led by Suva Pradhan, Vice President of the BJP Kalimpong Bidhan Samity Committee, who has been appointed Chief Coordinator to interface with grassroots party affiliates.

Electors will cast their votes under an officially reconstituted electoral map. The completed delimitation and reservation process has formally redrawn and expanded Kalimpong’s municipal territory from 23 wards into 25 wards through the bifurcation of former Wards 7 and 19. The finalized mapping and renumbering of the municipal wards are organized as follows:

Old Ward Number	Reconstituted Ward Number
Ward 1	Ward 13
Ward 2	Ward 11
Ward 3	Ward 8
Ward 4	Ward 6
Ward 5	Ward 13
Ward 6	Ward 4
Ward 7	Bifurcated into Wards 1 & 2
Ward 8	Ward 5
Ward 9	Ward 7
Ward 10	Ward 9
Ward 11	Ward 10
Ward 12	Retained as Ward 12
Ward 13	Ward 14
Ward 14	Ward 22
Ward 15	Ward 23
Ward 16	Ward 24
Ward 17	Ward 25
Ward 18	Ward 19
Ward 19	Bifurcated into Wards 17 & 18
Ward 20	Ward 16
Ward 21	Ward 15
Ward 22	Ward 21
Ward 23	Ward 20

Under the completed government declaration, 14 of the 25 seats are reserved. A total of 9 seats are reserved for women candidates: 3 for Scheduled Tribe (ST) women in Wards 1, 7, and 13, and 6 for General category women in Wards 3, 5, 10, 15, 18, and 22. For Scheduled Castes (SC), 3 seats are designated in Wards 11, 20, and 23, while 2 seats are earmarked for Scheduled Tribes (ST) in Wards 2 and 9.

The upcoming contest revives the institutional heritage of Kalimpong Municipality, the sole civic body in Kalimpong district. Having originated as an administrative sub-division of Darjeeling in 1916, Kalimpong achieved municipal status nearly three decades later with its formal incorporation in 1945. At the helm of this inaugural civic executive stood Late Santosh Kumar Pradhan—an eminent local attorney and President of the Kalimpong Bar Association—whose stewardship laid the municipality’s foundational civic charter.

During the twilight of British rule, the executive machinery operated under the oversight of colonial-appointed administrative officers assigned to assist the municipal leadership. Lacking a purpose-built civic hall, the municipal secretariat functioned from rented private quarters—situated on the grounds occupied today by the Kodak Studio/Delta Xerox complex—where it remained throughout the transition to independent nationhood.

A permanent administrative seat materialized in 1960. On May 27 of that year, Dr. B.C. Roy, then Chief Minister of West Bengal, laid the foundation stone for the municipal building at its current premises, marking Kalimpong’s post-colonial civic renaissance.

The civic board was then headed by Chairman M.K. Pradhan and Vice Chairman Omkar Mal Mintri, supported by Board of Municipal Commissioners B.M.S. Chemjong, R.S. Sinha, Mrs. P. Dolma, J.P. Agarwal, C.V. Agarwal, N.N. Mintri, B.N. Agarwal, D.M. Mooktan, P. Tempa, P.R. Pradhan, B.L. Dikshit, Dr. G.C. Das Gupta and Dr. N.N. Boral

Together, this cohort oversaw the transition from colonial makeshift offices to the modern administrative headquarters that anchor municipal governance in Kalimpong today.

From 1954 to 1959, S.N. Ray, SDO, functioned as Ex-Officio Chairman alongside Vice Chairman M.K. Pradhan. M.K. Pradhan subsequently secured four consecutive terms and an additional mandate as Chairman across 1959–63, 1963–66, 1966–68, 1968–72, and 1977–80, collaborating with Vice Chairman O.M. Mintri, who also served the civic body for six terms. The leadership transitioned in 1980–81 to Chairman T.P. Hissey and Vice Chairman J.B. Rai. J.B. Rai served as Chairman from 1981 to 1987 before being appointed civic Administrator in 1987.

During regional unrest across the Hills, municipal governance was entrusted to appointed administrators, including Tara Sundas and successive Sub-Divisional Officers C.M. Bachawat, Sanjeev Chopra, N.T. Lepcha, Ravi Kant, Subrata Banerjee, and S.K. Thade through 1993. Following the restoration of normalcy, elections resumed in 1994 with the election of Chairman C.K. Kumai and Vice Chairman Ayub Mohammed (1994–99). Regular democratic terms followed through 2009, with chairmanships held by K.H. Subba, Maximus Kalikotay, C.K. Kumai, and Norden Lama, and vice chairmanships held by Dhendup Bhutia, Daniel Chhetri, and Bijay Sundas.

Administrators A. Tshering and L.N. Sherpa supervised civic affairs from 2009 to 2012, after which elected boards returned under Chairpersons L.B. Pariyar and Ganga Maya Gurung between 2012 and 2016, alongside Vice Chairpersons Zion Lepcha and Ganga Maya Gurung. In the 2017 polls, 

Suva Pradhan and Sonam Tsewang Bhutia were initially elected Chairman and Vice Chairman, before a realignment saw Rabi Pradhan assume the Chairmanship and Bhim Agarwal take over as Vice Chairman until 2022. Both subsequently served as nominated Administrator and Vice Administrator through May 2026. The civic administration is currently headed by Kalimpong SDO Shri Sabyasachi Chattopadhyay as Administrator, holding the reins as the town prepares to return to the ballot box.