E-Paper
Elections to 5 MCs, 44 councils in Punjab to be held on Dec 21
Addressing the press conference, Punjab state election commissioner Raj Kamal Chaudhuri said that all necessary arrangements have been made for the civic body polls.
Punjab state election commission on Sunday announced elections to the five municipal corporations, 44 municipal councils and various nagar panchayats on December 21.
Addressing the press conference, Punjab state election commissioner Raj Kamal Chaudhuri said that all necessary arrangements have been made for the civic body polls.
“The model code of conduct will come into force with immediate effect in the jurisdiction of the said municipal bodies and will remain in force till the completion of the electoral process. The elections will be held from 7 am to 4 pm,” Chaudhuri said.
The five municipal corporations going to polls are Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala and Phagwara.
As per the election schedule, December 9 will be the first day for filling of nominations (between 11 am to 3 pm) in the offices of the concerned returning officers and December 12 will be the last date for filing nominations (up to 3 pm).
The scrutiny of nomination papers will be done on December 13 and the last date for the withdrawal of nominations will be December 14 (till 3 pm), Chaudhuri said.
The state election commissioner said electronic voting machines (EVMs) would be used for the voting and a sufficient number have been arranged.
The polled votes will be counted on the same day at the polling station itself, after the completion of polling of votes.
He further informed that the final publication of the electoral rolls of the municipal bodies going to the polls has been done on December 7 and a copy of the same is available with the concerned electoral registration officers (SDMs) and also in the office of the concerned municipal body.
Chaudhuri said 37.32 lakh voters including 19.55 lakh males, 17.76 lakh females and 204 others are eligible to cast their votes.
Sharing more details, he added that polling, wherever required, would be held for 381 wards of the municipal corporations and 598 wards of the municipal councils/nagar panchayats.
The state election commissioner added that there are a total of 1,609 polling locations having 3,809 polling booths.
Of them, 344 polling locations have been identified as hypersensitive and 665 as sensitive. The hypersensitive polling stations would be provided with an additional force. A sufficient number of platoons have been kept in reserve. A total of 21,500 personnel from the police department and Home Guard Jawans would be deployed in the districts, he said.
He further highlighted that instructions regarding the prohibition on carrying arms and ammunition have been issued.
The expenditure limits notified for a candidate contesting for the municipal elections are ₹4 lakh for the municipal corporation, ₹3.6 lakh for municipal council class 1, ₹2.3 lakh for municipal council class 2 and ₹2 lakh for municipal council class 3. The expenditure limit notified for a candidate contesting for the nagar panchayat is ₹1.4 lakh.
Around 23,000 election personnel would be deputed on election duty.
As many as 25 IAS and PCS officers would be appointed as general observers for the polls, he said.
SAD protests civic body polls during Shaheedi week
Chandigarh
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Sunday registered a protest against the state election commission’s decision to hold civic body polls on December 21 as the schedule coincides with the days when Sikhs commemorate the martyrdom of younger Sahibzadas of 10th master Guru Gobind Singh – Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh.
In a statement, SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema said it was shocking that the state election commission had chosen to hold the elections on December 21, a day which marked the sacrifices of the two elder Sahibzadas. He said it was unfortunate that the commission had ignored appeals by the SAD and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) not to conduct the elections during those days.
Asking the commission to withdraw its order and issue fresh directions, Cheema said: “We have witnessed such precedents in almost all elections with the procedure being deferred on account of holy days or events”.
He also announced the SAD would contest the elections and that it would hold meetings to select candidates and plan the overall strategy. HTC
