Punjab Municipal Elections 2021 LIVE Updates: Polling was held to 2,302 wards of eight municipal corporations and 109 municipal councils and nagar panchayats
Representational image. PTI
SAD candidate Parveen Kumar Pinna, who is contesting the Moga MC election from ward number 36, was assaulted by unidentified persons outside the Arya School polling booth, News18 reported.
The polling in Punjab's Muktsar district began on a violent note, with senior vice president of Muktsar municipal council Yadwinder Singh Yadu, a Congress candidate from Ward 4, and his supporter Sudhir Sharma getting injured in a late night clash between Kotkapura Road on the outskirts of Muktsar town, reported News18. According to The Tribune, Yadu received six stitches and was admitted to the local civil hospital. According to the report, Congress leader Karan Kaur Brar blamed Akalis for the violence while SAD Muktsar district president-cum-local MLA Kanwarjit Singh Rozy Barkandi claimed that Yadu was beaten up by the police.
As per News18, seven people have been injured in Ward No 1 of Ropar Municipal Council in a clash between Congress and SAD workers.
According to reports, a voter turnout of over 55 percent has been recorded in the Punjab municipal polls till 2 pm. According to Amar Ujala, Mansa raced ahead of Bathinda with a voter turnout of 68.9 percent, while Mohali saw the lowest turnout of 47.7 percent
According to News18, the voter turnout in the municipal polls in Ludhiana district till 2pm is as follows: Payal - 60.1 percent, Doraha: 57.4 percent, Samrala 51.42 percent, Jagraon 51.29 percent, Sahnewal: 50 percent, Mullanpur 49.71 percent and Khanna: 48.39 percent.
Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly and AAP leader demanded Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's resignation over incidents of violence during the municipal elections in the state. "Instead of protecting the people of Punjab he is promoting his goons and suppressing the people's voices," Cheema alleged.
The ensuing poll violence show that @capt_amarinder is a killer of democracy. I demand his immediate resignation. Instead of protecting the people of Punjab he is promoting his goons and suppressing the people's voices.@ArvindKejriwal @ZeePunjabHH @thetribunechd @htTweets
— Adv Harpal Singh Cheema (@HarpalCheemaMLA) February 14, 2021
According to news agency PTI, there were some reports of minor skirmishes and heated exchanges between the workers of the ruling Congress and the Opposition parties at some other places, including Jagraon, Rupnagar, Rajpura, Tarn Taran and Bathinda.
Talking to the media in Majitha, Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia accused the ruling Congress of misusing the government machinery to win the urban local bodies polls in Punjab. He further charged the Congress-led government of not carrying out any development work during its regime.
PTI
Tensions gripped Batala as Congress and BJP workers clashed, reportedadding that the situation was controlled by the police in time. According to The Tribune, tight security arrangements are in place.
A poll percentage of 37.01 percent has been recorded in the Punjal municipal election till noon, reported Amar Ujala. The highest voter turnout of 18.42 percent was recorded in Bathinda, while the lowest (30.7 percent) was recorded in Sangrur, it said.
According to News18, the poll percentage recorded in Sangrur is as follows:
Sunam 31.36 percent
Longowal 46.64 percent
Lehragaga 40.99 percent
Bhawanigarh 34.85 percent
Dhuri 34.26 percent
Ahmedgarh 34.60 percent
Amargarh 49.36 percent
Malerkotla 35 percent
According to reports, activists of Kisan Sangharsh Committee stopped BJP booth managers from setting up help desk at polling booths in ward number 37 of Amritsar.
Punjab Municipal Elections 2021 Latest Updates: According to reports, a voter turnout of over 55 percent has been recorded in the Punjab municipal polls till 2 pm.
Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly and AAP leader demanded Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's resignation over incidents of violence during the municipal elections in the state. "Instead of protecting the people of Punjab he is promoting his goons and suppressing the people's voices," Cheema alleged.
Around 37 per cent polling was registered till 12 noon on Sunday for the civic body elections in Punjab, officials said. The voting began at 8 am and it will continue till 4 pm, they said.
Tensions gripped Batala as Congress and BJP workers clashed, reported News18, adding that the situation was controlled by the police in time.
A voter turnout of 48.42 percent was recorded till noon in Bathinda, said reports.
Akali Dal candidate Parveen Kumar Pinna, who is contesting the Moga MC election from ward number 36, was assaulted by unidentified persons outside the Arya School polling booth.
The polling in Punjab's Muktsar district began on a violent note, with senior vice president of Muktsar municipal council Yadwinder Singh Yadu, a Congress candidate from Ward 4, and his supporter Sudhir Sharma getting injured in a late night clash between Kotkapura Road on the outskirts of Muktsar town, said reports.
According to News18, a dense fog cover affected voting in Ferozepur.
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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