Following the Calcutta High Court direction on holding the Panchayat polls before July 15, the West Bengal Government and State Election Commission (SEC) will meet on Thursday to decide on the dates.

“We will meet tomorrow with the State Government officials to discuss the issue of conducting the Panchayat polls. State Election Commissioner Mira Pandey will be present at the meeting,” SEC Secretary Tapas Roy told Business Line .

According to both SEC and State Government sources, the meeting would be held at the Commission’s office to discuss the election schedule and identification of the districts for conducting the three-phase polls following the Court’s instructions.

The Chief Justice-led Division Bench of the High Court on Tuesday ordered that State Government would decide on the dates and phase allocation in terms of districts in consultation with SEC. The State will also have to notify dates within three days from Tuesday.

Apart from SEC secretary, the State Panchayat Department Secretary Saurabh Kumar Das, and Home Secretary Basudeb Banerjee, sources added, would attend the meeting, along with other officials.

Pandey is understood to have communicated on Wednesday about the meeting to the State Government officials in the Panchayat Department.

Meanwhile, State Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee told a Bengali news channel that the State Government would like to hold the polls by July 6. ayan.pramanik@thehindu.co.in

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