Chandigarh, May 11
Punjab will go to polls for 105 municipal bodies on May 26, with counting of votes scheduled for May 29, State Election Commissioner Raj Kamal Chaudhury announced on Monday.
Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh, Chaudhury said elections will be conducted for eight municipal corporations, including Mohali, Bathinda, Abohar, Barnala, Kapurthala, Moga, Batala, and Pathankot. Apart from the municipal corporations, elections will also be held for 76 municipal councils and 21 Nagar Panchayats across the state. A total of 2,019 wards will go to the polls during the civic elections.
The State Election Commission said the Model Code of Conduct has come into immediate effect following the announcement of the poll schedule. According to the commission, around 36.7 lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes in the elections, including nearly 17.7 lakh women voters. Polling will be conducted at 3,977 polling stations from 8 am to 5 pm.
Chaudhury said the nomination process will begin on May 13, while the last date for filing nomination papers is May 16. Scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on May 18, and candidates can withdraw their nominations till May 19. To ensure peaceful polling, more than 35,000 Punjab Police personnel will be deployed across the state during the elections, the commission said.
The upcoming civic polls are expected to witness intense political contest in urban areas, especially in key municipal corporations, where major political parties are preparing for aggressive campaigns in the coming days.
