Shimla, May 28
Voting for the second phase of the Panchayati Raj elections began at 7 am on Wednesday across 1,276 gram panchayats in Himachal Pradesh. More than 17.30 lakh voters are expected to exercise their franchise across all 12 districts of the state. Officials said polling arrangements have been put in place to ensure free, fair, and peaceful elections.
According to the State Election Commission, the electorate includes 8,74,416 men, 8,55,597 women, and 17 voters from other categories. Kangra has the highest number of voters at 3,95,856, followed by Mandi with 2,72,181 and Shimla with 1,74,514 voters. Lahaul and Spiti recorded the lowest voter count at 8,875.
The results for the posts of pradhan, up pradhan, and ward members from the first phase have already been declared, while counting for Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad seats will take place on May 31.
Meanwhile, irregularities reported during the first phase prompted the Election Commission to take action. In Chamba district’s Samwal Panchayat under Tissa block, voting in Ward 2 was suspended after polling officials allegedly allowed some voters to cast ballots with companions without completing mandatory declaration formalities. Re-polling will now be held on May 30, with results to be declared the following day.
Another discrepancy was reported in the Banah Dhini Panchayat of Pachhad block in Sirmaur, where ballot boxes for Zila Parishad and Panchayat elections were allegedly exchanged during counting. Officials said counting is now being conducted under police security.
