Mamata Banerjee on Monday dodged questions on the panchayat poll schedule in the state, but took care to explain why the elections could not be held in January-February.

“I won’t say anything on this as this is a matter of the state election commission,” said the chief minister while replying to a question on the probable schedule of rural polls during a news meet at Nabanna on Monday.

The chief minister, who earlier said she preferred polls in winter so that people could cast their votes comfortably, went on to explain why rural polls could not be held in January-February.

“The rural polls could not be held in January and February as rules would not have allowed the elected representatives to take over the rural bodies before May-June. Panchayats would have remained non-functional for six months. It would have hurt development work,” she said.

Sources said Mamata was trying to explain the rules wherein rural bodies get a full five-year tenure from the date of their first board meeting.

“In 2018, the majority of the boards held their first board meeting in July-end or August. So, these boards could not be dissolved before July-August this year. Holding the elections early would have created chaos in the system,” said a senior panchayat department official.

While the chief minister's explanation of why there was no plan to hold the polls in the winter months was clear, her answer on the probable dates raised several questions in the administrative circles.

“Though the chief minister said deciding the poll dates depends on the state poll panel, it is not technically correct. According to the rules, the state government proposes the dates for the panchayat polls and the state election commission accepts them and issues related notifications," said a senior bureaucrat.

According to the source, the chief minister's answer could be part of a strategy to delay the elections further.

Initially, it was planned that notification for the polls would be issued in the first week of May so that elections could be held in the last week of May or early June.

“But the ongoing heat wave may have forced a rethink as the ruling establishment is not sure how the weather will be by May-end or early June. If it is predicted that monsoon will arrive in due course in Bengal, polls can be held in the first week of June as pre-monsoon rain will make the weather relatively comfortable," said another official.

Sources said that the state government is in no hurry to declare poll dates as there is time to elect new rural bodies till July.

“The ruling establishment wants to hold panchayat polls when the weather is comfortable for the rural populace,” said a source.