Chandigarh:Polling for election to five municipal corporations 44 municipal councils and nagar panchayats is underway in Punjab, officials said on Saturday. The polling began at 7 am amid tight security arrangements and will continue till 4 pm, they added. The votes will be counted at the polling stations after the completion of the polling, the officials said.
The five municipal corporations where the elections are being held are Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala and Phagwara. More than 3,300 candidates are in the fray for the civic polls, the officials said, adding that a total of 3,809 polling booths have been set up. A total of 37.32 lakh voters, including 17.75 lakh females, are eligible to cast their votes in these elections.
Electronic voting machines (EVMs) are being used for polling. Adequate security arrangements have been made, the officials said. The civic polls will be a litmus test for the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which would like its winning momentum to continue after securing victories in three of the four Assembly bypolls in November.
These elections are important as they will reveal the popularity of the ruling party among urban voters. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann held roadshows and campaigned for the AAP candidates in the run-up to the elections. It will also be the first test for Aman Arora after he was appointed as the AAP's Punjab unit chief. Arora took part in poll campaigning and made several promises to the voters.
The stakes are also high for the Congress, which had a majority in the Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Patiala municipal corporations. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) are also contesting the municipal corporation polls.
