The West Bengal State Election Commission (WBSEC) on Thursday issued a notification to announce that elections to 108 municipalities in the state will be held on February 27.

The notification, however, did not mention the date of vote counting, which, the officials said, will be declared later.

"Elections to 108 municipalities will be held on February 27. The date of counting will be announced later. The entire election process will be completed by March 8, an SEC official said.

On Wednesday, the panel convened an all-party meeting. In the meeting, the Congress urged the panel to defer the elections amid the Covid-19 situation even as the TMC said they would abide by the panel’s decision. The Left and the BJP demanded that the counting also be held on polling day.

On Thursday, the commission will convene a meeting with all district magistrates and Superintendents of Police as all districts would be engaged in the election.

The panel is also likely to announce some relaxations in the Covid protocols for campaigning in the run-up to the civic polls. As of now, political parties are not allowed to hold rallies with more than 200 persons and door-to-door campaign will not be allowed with more than five persons other than the candidate and security personnel.