Odisha Sounds Bugle For ULB Elections 2022, Schedule To Be Out Anytime

The Odisha Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) Department on Wednesday issued the formal notification for conduct of the urban local body (ULB) elections 2022 calling upon wards to elect mayors, corporators, chairpersons and councillors. 

As many as 107 Notified Area Council (NACs)/Municipalities and three Municipal Corporations - Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) and Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC) - will go to poll to elect people's representatives. 

The State government has said it is expedient to hold general election to the Chairpersons, Councillors, mayors and corporators for the purpose of reconstituting/constituting the 107 municipalities/NACs and three municipal corporations as the term of the elected representatives have been completed. 

The term of office of the elected Chairperson, Councillors of a Municipality apart from Mayor and Corporators of a Municipal Corporation is five years from the date of their first meeting convened under clause (a) of sub-section (2) of section 47.  

The term of five years from the date of appointed for the first meeting has been completed in respect of 103 Municipalities/ NACs. Further, in the meantime Chandabali NAC, Dhamnagar NAC, Bijepur NAC and Remuna NAC are newly constituted.

“The State Government do hereby call upon all wards in the city of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, Cuttack Municipal Corporation and Berhampur Municipal Corporation to elect Mayors and Corporators in accordance with the provisions of the said Act and Rules and orders made there under,” the H&UD department said in its notification. 

Similarly, the State Government called upon all the wards in Municipal areas, except Bhadrak Municipality to elect the Chairpersons and Councillors. 

The UBL polls 2022 will be conducted after the completion of the ongoing three-tier Panchayat elections in the State. The schedule for the ULB polls 2022 is expected to be notified anytime soon. 

In the last ULBs polls held in the State in 2013-14, the democratic exercise was held in a total of 94 ULBs. The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) had won 70 ULBs, Congress 15, BJP 2 and Independents 6.