Punjab Municipal Elections 2021 LIVE Updates: The State Election Commission has set up 4,102 polling stations and 19,000 police personnel have been deputed
Representational image. PTI
The official spokesperson of the State Election Commission on Saturday said it has set up 4,102 polling stations and out of which, 1,708 have been declared as sensitive and 861 as hypersensitive.
The BJP, which is facing a lot of heat over the new bills, has put 1,003 candidates. The Aam Aadmi Party and the BSP have fielded 1,606 and 160 candidates respectively.
The Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar on Saturday accused the Opposition of making baseless allegations against the state government and claimed that they have already conceded the defeat. The Opposition parties are now trying to find an excuse, he said.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are fighting the municipals elections in Punjab separately after the former walked out of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) over the farm laws issue last year. SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and other party leaders campaigned for their party candidates. The party has fielded 1,569 candidates in the civic body polls.
A total of 9,222 candidates are in the fray for 2,302 wards. Out of the total candidates, 2,832 are contesting as independents, 2,037 are of the ruling Congress and 1,569 of the Akali Dal. The number of candidates of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Aam Aadmi Party and the BSP are 1,003, 1,606 and 160 respectively
The voting for elections to eight municipal corporations of Abohar, Bathinda, Batala, Kapurthala, Mohali, Hoshiarpur, Pathankot and Moga and 109 municipal councils and nagar panchayats in the state will be held today from 8 am till 4 pm.
Punjab Municipal Elections 2021 Latest Updates: Polling is underway for the civic body elections in Punjab, reports PTI quoting officials. The voting began at 8 am on Sunday and it will continue till 4 pm, they said.
Out of the total 9,222 candidates in the fray, 2,832 are contesting as Independents, 2,037 are of the ruling Congress and 1,569 of the Akali Dal. The BJP, which is facing a lot of heat over the new bills, has put 1,003 candidates. The Aam Aadmi Party and the BSP have fielded 1,606 and 160 candidates respectively.
The voting for elections to eight municipal corporations of Abohar, Bathinda, Batala, Kapurthala, Mohali, Hoshiarpur, Pathankot and Moga and 109 municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Punjab will be held from 8 am till 4 pm.
A total of 9,222 candidates are in the fray for 2,302 wards. Out of the total candidates, 2,832 are contesting as independents, 2,037 are of the ruling Congress and 1,569 of the Akali Dal. The number of candidates of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Aam Aadmi Party and the BSP are 1,003, 1,606 and 160 respectively.
All the arrangements are in place for the civic body elections, an official spokesperson of the State Election Commission said on Saturday.
The official spokesperson of the State Election Commission said it has set up 4,102 polling stations and out of which, 1,708 have been declared as sensitive and 861 as hypersensitive.
The spokesperson said every voter who enters the polling station before 4 pm will have the right to vote. The counting of votes will take place on 17 February.
The State Election Commission has also announced 14 and 17 February as dry days.
Around 7,000 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) have been deployed for voting. A total of 25,010 employees have also been deputed. Around 19,000 police personnel have been deputed to conduct free and fair elections, said the spokesperson.
There are 20,49,777 male, 18,65,354 female and 149 transgender voters, totalling 39,15,280 registered voters in the state of Punjab for the civic elections. A total of 30 IAS or PCS officers have been deputed as observers to conduct free and fair elections, said the spokesperson.
In these elections, 50 percent of seats have been reserved for women.
All the main political parties had canvassed vigorously during the campaigning for the civic body elections in the state which will see Assembly polls next year.
Several Punjab ministers including Manpreet Singh Badal and Balbir Singh Sidhu had canvassed for the Congress nominees. The SAD and the BJP are fighting these elections separately after the former walked out of the National Democratic Alliance over the farm laws issue last year.
SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and other party leaders campaigned for their party candidates. The BJP leaders and candidates had faced farmers'' protest during campaigning with the saffron party accusing the Congress of unleashing “hooliganism” in the guise of farmers.
Several senior AAP leaders including Raghav Chadha had held roadshows in several parts of the state and had sought votes for the nominees of the main Opposition party in Punjab.
The Opposition had accused the Congress of “misusing” the government machinery to win these polls, a charge denied by the ruling party.
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