Himachal Pradesh: Voting for 51 urban local bodies underway for civic body elections

Voting started queuing from 7 AM today at 589 polling stations for 51 urban local bodies, including four Municipal Corporations and 47 Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats. Voters will be able to cast their votes until 3 PM.

Last month, State Election Commissioner Anil Khachi said the elections will cover four Municipal Corporations, 25 Municipal Councils, and 22 Nagar Panchayats across the state.

Providing details on the electorate, Khachi said a total of 3,60,859 voters are eligible to cast their votes, including 1,80,963 men, 1,79,882 women and 14 voters in the "others" category. Among them are 1,808 first-time voters aged 18 years.

Khachi said elaborate security arrangements are being put in place in coordination with the state police and home department to maintain law and order during the elections. A paid holiday will be observed on the polling day for both government and private sector employees to encourage maximum voter turnout.

The Himachal Pradesh State Election Commission had also circulated the election-related notifications to the Information and Public Relations Department, Akashvani and Doordarshan to ensure wider dissemination of voter-awareness information and election updates.

Meanwhile, the three-phase Panchayati Raj elections will be conducted on May 26, 28 and 30. Polling will take place from 7 am to 3 pm through ballot papers and ballot boxes.

According to an official statement issued by the Himachal Pradesh State Election Commission, the PRI election process began with the issuance of a notification on April 29. Nomination papers were filed on May 7, 8 and 11, followed by scrutiny on May 12 and 13. The final list of candidates emerged on May 15 after the completion of the withdrawal process and allotment of election symbols.

According to the Commission, a total of 86,725 nomination papers were filed across the state, out of which 793 nominations were rejected during scrutiny. Another 15,708 candidates withdrew their nominations, leaving 70,224 candidates in the electoral fray.

District-wise figures show that Kangra district recorded the highest number of candidates with 17,643 contestants after 1,805 withdrawals from 19,448 valid nominations. Mandi followed with 11,728 candidates remaining in the contest after 2,837 withdrawals.

Shimla district has 6,118 candidates in the fray, while Chamba recorded 7,315 candidates, making it among the districts with the highest participation levels.

Hamirpur has 4,849 candidates contesting the elections, followed by Una with 4,755 candidates, Bilaspur with 4,145 candidates, Solan with 4,195 candidates and Kullu with 4,098 candidates.

Sirmaur district recorded 3,919 final contestants, while tribal districts Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti reported the lowest figures with 1,034 and 425 candidates, respectively.

Counting of votes for Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats will be undertaken on the same day at respective headquarters, while counting for the four Municipal Corporations will be held separately on May 31 from 9 am. (ANI)