The state election commission on Tuesday informed Calcutta High Court that till cases relating to Bengal’s municipal polls were not disposed of by the court, it would not announce dates of any municipal poll.

The panel’s lawyer said since a petition seeking an order for the panel to announce civic polls in Bengal — besides Calcutta and Howrah — was pending in court, the panel could not announce any polls now. The high court asked the state government and the panel to file affidavits on this issue by November 24.

The poll panel had decided to hold elections to civic corporations in Calcutta and Howrah on December 19, but after Tuesday’s development, polls appear unlikely on that date.

The BJP has repeatedly asserted it wants judicial intervention to ensure all pending civic polls in Bengal take place simultaneously, or that results of all civic bodies be declared the same day.