Polling begins for Punjab civic bodies; litmus test for AAP

CHANDIGARH: Ahead of the Assembly elections in Punjab, slated in early 2027, the AAP-ruled state on Tuesday went to the polls to elect councillors for 1,896 wards and eight municipal corporations amid tight security.

A total of 35.45 lakh voters will exercise their franchise till 5 p.m. Electors across the state could be seen reaching polling stations even before voting started at 8 a.m. “There has been no report of any delay in starting the poll process,” a state electoral officer told IANS here.

The state Election Commission has deputed around 32,000 police personnel and 35,000 election staff to ensure free and fair elections at eight municipal corporations, 75 municipal councils and 20 nagar panchayats.

The eight municipal corporations are in Abohar, Mohali, Moga, Bathinda, Barnala, Batala, Kapurthala and Pathankot. Of 7,555 candidates in the fray, 1,801 belong to the Aam Aadmi Party, 1,550 to the Congress, 1,316 to the BJP, 1,251 to the Shiromani Akali Dal, and 96 to the Bahujan Samaj Party, while 1,528 are Independent and 13 other candidates. The electorate comprises 18,33,712 male voters, 17,11,635 women and 220 voters listed under the “other” category.

Ahead of the municipal elections, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had dismissed a PIL challenging the Election Commission’s decision to switch from electronic voting machines (EVMs) to ballot papers. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry had rejected the plea that the shift from EVM-VVPAT to ballot papers had been made abruptly through an administrative communication, without any statutory amendment, legislative sanction, or public consultation.

“It is now too late for us to pass any orders or issue any writ since the election programme was published as early as May 13. The election programme of municipal elections has progressed to an advanced stage, where the last date of withdrawal of candidature was May 19,” it had observed on May 22.

Later, the Supreme Court too dismissed the petition seeking the use of EVMs instead of ballot papers in the municipal elections. Noting that the elections are scheduled to take place on Tuesday, the bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Pancholi refused to interfere, saying it was too late as all arrangements had been made.

State BJP President Sunil Jakhar has warned the government against using any illegal means to win the local body elections, saying Punjab would no longer bow to AAP’s fear and pressure tactics.

He said statements being made by AAP MLAs and leaders about shutting polling booth doors and capturing booths to win elections reflected the desperation of the government. Although Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann did not campaign for the polls, his ministers, MPs and MLAs campaigned aggressively for the party candidates.