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Punjab gram panchayat elections today
Polling for the posts of ‘sarpanch’ and ‘panch’ will be held from 8 am to 4 pm through ballot boxes, officials announced on Monday.
Gram panchayat elections will be held in Punjab on Tuesday amid tight security arrangements despite calls for deferment by the Congress over alleged irregularities in nominations.
Polling for the posts of ‘sarpanch’ and ‘panch’ will be held from 8 am to 4 pm through ballot boxes, officials announced on Monday.
Counting will take place at the respective polling stations immediately after voting concludes. Polling teams have been dispatched to booths along with adequate security.
There will be more than 19,000 polling booths, covering over 13,000 gram panchayats in the state.
Notably, candidates have been barred from using symbols of political parties, in keeping with the Punjab Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2024, passed last month by the Vidhan Sabha.
There are a total of 1.33 crore registered voters in the state, including 70.51 lakh male voters and 63.46 lakh female voters.
“Polling teams have been sent to polling stations. The deputy commissioners have been directed to ensure free and fair polls,” said an official of the state election commission.
In Bathinda, where 74 hyper-sensitive polling stations have been identified and 175 have been tagged as sensitive, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Amneet Kondal told reporters that more than 1,700 policemen have been deployed for the polling day.
“Two superintendents of police (SPs) and 14 deputy superintendents of police (DSPs) will remain stationed to maintain law and order. Besides 1,600 police personnel from the district police force, the state authorities have allocated another team of 125 cops for Bathinda,” she said.
Deputy commissioner Showkat Ahmad Parray said that in 37 gram panchayats of Bathinda, the representatives have been elected unanimously.
Ferozepur DC Deepshikha Sharma said in view of elections, there will be a ban on the sale of liquor through the day on October 15 and till 10am on October 16.
Congress calls for deferment of polls by 3 weeks
On Monday, a Congress delegation, led by Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa met with the Punjab State Election Commissioner, seeking three-week postponement of the panchayat elections. Bajwa claimed there were “massive irregularities” in the nomination process, with several candidates’ names being “wrongfully” rejected. He also noted that many Opposition-backed candidates were denied the necessary no-objection certificates during the filing of nominations. Congress has also raised concerns over the use of the voters’ list from January 1, 2023, instead of the updated list from January 1, 2024, which was used during the Lok Sabha elections.
Congress unnerved by imminent defeat: AAP
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday criticised Congress leader and LoP Partap Singh Bajwa for demanding “cancellation” of the panchayat elections in the state.
Reacting to the Opposition party’s demand, AAP spokesperson and MP Malvinder Singh Kang stated that Congress leaders are talking about “canceling the elections” out of fear of a major defeat. “Congress is unnerved. They are targeting our leaders and candidates with bullets while complaining to the Election Commission about us. Despite this, chief minister Bhagwant Mann and the AAP government are continuously working to ensure that the elections are held fairly and peacefully,” he said. Elections to 13,229 gram panchayats are slated to be held on Tuesday.
Kang claimed that the Congress is lagging far behind in this election and people are not giving any importance to its candidates because they have seen their actions in the past. He alleged that during the Congress and Akali governments, panchayats were sold, and there was widespread violence during elections. “The AAP government has ended this culture and made the elections more transparent,” he added.
Meanwhile, Punjab chief minister (CM) Bhagwant Singh Mann expressed gratitude towards the Punjab and Haryana high court for paving way for panchayat elections. The CM also appealed to Punjabis to take part in these polls without fear.
(With inputs from HTC Bathinda)
