Punjab civic polls LIVE: Victory of Congress in elections to be a gift for Rahul Gandhi, says Navjot Sidhu

Polls being held in three municipal corporation - Amritsar, Jalandhar & Patiala and 29 municipal councils and Nagar Panchayats. The results will be declared on Sunday evening. The election for the municipal corporation of Punjab’s largest city, Ludhiana, are not being held as the electoral rolls were not updated.

Also read: Punjab municipal polls under way: First litmus test for Congress govt

A total of 8,000 election staff and 15,500 police personnel have been assigned for poll duty. The Akali Dal-BJP and AAP had accused the Congress of misusing its power in the run-up to the municipal polls.

Here are the live updates:

5: 55 pm: Congress leads at most of the wards.

5: 30 pm: Congress sweeps Nagar Panchayat polls in Majha, wins 38 seats out of 39 seats.

4: 30 pm: Counting of votes underway in three municipal corporation - Amritsar, Jalandhar & Patiala

3:41 pm: 42% polling recorded in Amritsar till 3 pm.

3:28 pm: SAD-BJP delegation led by former minister Daljeet Singh Cheema meets chief electoral officer in Chandigarh on Sunday and demand cancellation of the civic body polls in Patiala. They have also given a deadline to take any action by 5 pm.

3:02pm: SAD-BJP leaders stage dharna outside the Punjab chief electoral officer in Chandigarh. The delegation has registered a formal complaint with the CEO demanding cancelation of polls in Patiala.

2:45pm: 32% polling recorded in Amritsar till 2 pm

1:57pm: Punjab local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, who came to cast his vote along with his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu in ward number 9, said the party will gift victory to Rahul Gandhi in Punjab civic body polls for becoming the national president of AICC.

Ruling out any kind of ‘excesses’ by the Congress, he stated that free and fair elections are being witnessed across the state. He said the Congress will shower development grants once it takes over. He added that Rs 15 crore will be allotted for sewarage in Amritsar.

1:49pm: SAD says it is boycotting the civic polls after reports of rigging and booth capturing emerged in Patiala. MP Prem Chandumajra held meeting with senior leaders on Sunday morning and said ,“This is not the way to hold elections in a democratic system.”

1:33 pm: Akali Dal workers reportedly open fire in the air in Patiala. No injuries reported. Both SAD and Congress workers allegedly pelted stones after they clashed on the Nabha-Patiala road.

SAD, Congress workers clashed at ward number 14 in Patiala on Sunday. (Bharat Bhushan/HT)

12:37 pm: An approximate of 25% voter turnout till in Amritsar till 12 pm.

12:30 pm: 25% polling recorded in Patiala till 12 pm. Minor incidents of violence reported after clash between Congress and SAD workers here in Patiala.

Sandeep carries his grandmother Ishri Devi, who celebrated her 105th birthday on December 15, after she cast her vote in Jalandhar on Sunday. (Pardeep Pandit/HT)

12:28 pm: Alleging rigging and booth capturing in Patiala civic poll, member of Parliament from Anandpur Sahib Prem Singh Chandumajra and his supporters sit on a dharna outside the residence of Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh.

12:11 pm: 29.79% voter turnout till 12 pm has been recorded in the Jalandhar municipal elections.

12:05 pm: Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu cast their votes at Ward No 9’s polling station 5 in Amritsar

11:33 am: 10.43 % polling till 10 am in Jalandhar.

10:20 am: Police have deployed 6,800 personnel in Amritsar and Jalandhar. In Amritsar, 4,000 police personnel will be deployed and the administration has set up 748 polling booths at 365 polling stations.

10:11am: As many as 118 polling stations have been declared hyper-sensitive, 155 sensitive and 92 non-sensitive.

9:45 am: 12% polling till 10 am in Patiala.

Three generation after voting stand outside a polling booth in Patiala. (Bharat Bhushan Sharma /HT)

9:15 am: 9% polling till 10 am in Amritsar.

Women wait for their turn to vote in Amritsar on Sunday. (Sameer Sehgal/HT)

8:45 am: The voting will continue till 4 pm. The main contest is among the ruling Congress, main opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Aam Aadmi Party BJP alliance.

8.30 am: Voting for the Punjab municipal elections began at 8am.

Local issues of towns and cities and the respective wards dominated the campaigning for the municipal elections. A total of 413 candidates are in the fray in 85 wards of Amritsar where 769,153 voters will exercise their franchise.

In Jalandhar, 305 candidates are contesting from 80 wards. In Patiala, election will be held in 57 wards in which 260,664 voters can exercise their franchise.

This is the first big election in the state after the Congress government, led by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, came to power after the assembly polls in March.

The Congress won 77 out of 117 seats in the assembly. The AAP finished second with 20 seats.