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Punjab witnessed an overall voter turnout of 63.94 per cent in the General Elections to Municipalities-2026 held on Tuesday, according to the official poll-day summary released by the State Election authorities.
A total of 22,38,241 votes were polled across 102 municipalities, including Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats. The elections covered 1,897 wards and 3,833 polling booths across the state. Among all categories, Nagar Panchayats recorded the highest voter turnout at 76.18 per cent, followed by Municipal Councils with 65.06 per cent. Municipal Corporations registered a turnout of 59.91 per cent. As per the data, Municipal Corporations accounted for 10.71 lakh electors, where 6.41 lakh votes were polled. Municipal Councils had the largest electorate of over 22.87 lakh voters, with nearly 14.88 lakh votes cast. In Nagar Panchayats, over 1.07 lakh votes were recorded out of 1.41 lakh electors. The election process involved 7,554 contesting candidates across all urban local bodies. Male voter participation remained slightly higher than female turnout, while 78 votes were recorded under the 'Others' category statewide. Meanwhile, as polling for the crucial municipal elections across Punjab gains momentum, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday issued a fervent appeal to the electorate to come out in large numbers and exercise their franchise. In a message to the voters, Arvind Kejriwal emphasised the power of the ballot in shaping local governance and addressing the everyday concerns of citizens. On Tuesday, polling for local elections across several Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats commenced, as people arrived at the polling stations with full enthusiasm. According to Returning Officer, Damandeep Kaur, arrangements are made both outside and inside the premises of the polling station with CCTV cameras installed everywhere as per the directives of the State Election Commission and the High Court. She urged voters to cast their vote as soon as possible to maintain crowd management at the polling booths. "We are fully prepared; voting has begun at the polling booths. In accordance with the directives of the State Election Commission and the High Court, additional arrangements have been made, such as CCTV cameras, which you can see both inside and outside the booths. The entire force is deployed, all election parties are in place, and we are fully prepared. The staff in each polling party consists of 4 to 5 members, depending on the number of votes. Regarding the crowd you mentioned, I appeal to everyone: please do not wait for the last hour, and come cast your vote," the Returning Officer said. Meanwhile, an Aam Aadmi Party candidate contesting from Mohali Ward Number 6, Sunny Singh Ahluwalia, termed the elections as "festival of democracy" and urged people to come out and cast their vote. "Look, the biggest festival of democracy is the election, and today is election day. It will decide the future direction and condition of Mohali. This is a very big day for democracy and for all of us, because today we will decide which way Mohali goes and how it develops. How beautiful it will be made will be decided by everyone's vote. Therefore, I request that you must come to vote, because it is an important day that will change the condition and direction of our lives in the future," he told ANI. Another voter who exercised his democratic right said, "Many people are coming and have cast their votes. Everyone should come and use their democratic rights... People are excited, and they will come."Another AAP candidate, Sarabjit Samana, expressed confidence in his victory and said, "I appeal to people to cast their votes. I am confident that the people will give us a chance to serve them." Polling across eight Municipal Corporations, 75 Municipal Councils and 20 Nagar Panchayats is taking place across Punjab, with counting of votes set to take place on May 29. A total of 7555 candidates are in fray across various Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats, with Aam Aadmi Party fielding 1801 candidates, followed by 1550 candidates from Congress, 1316 candidates from BJP and 1251 candidates contesting from Akali Dal. (ANI)
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