45% turnout in four MCs, 59% vote in six nagar panchayats of Himachal
Polling will be held till 5pm after which counting of votes will start, results are expected late this evening
Nearly 45% voters exercised their franchise in the four municipal corporation elections, while 59% voted in the six nagar panchayats in Himachal Pradesh till 3pm on Wednesday.
A total of 279 candidates are in the fray in 64 wards of the four municipal corporations of Dharamshala, Palampur, Mandi and Solan. Dharamshala will elect its civic body for the second time, while the other three corporations are newly formed.
The elections are being contested on party symbols this time.
State electoral officer Sanjeev Mahajan said Palampur recorded 49.87% polling, Mandi 52.42%, Dharamshala 40.79% and Solan 46.6%. He said Banuri ward in Palampur MC recorded the highest 54.94% polling, followed by 49.66% in Forsythganj in Dharamshala and 92.34% in Dhaundhi ward of Mandi.
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Polling started on brisk note before slowing down
Among the nagar panchayats, Nerwa recorded 54.37% polling till 3pm, Chirgaon 53.55%, Kandaghat 52%, Ani 49.12%, Amb 45.9% and Nirmand 43.10%.
Polling was brisk in the early hours but slowed down as the day progressed. Kanwarjeet Singh, a voter in Dharamshala, said: “I voted early in the morning. People have turned up in good numbers to vote. Young people are enthusiastic.”
After 5pm, counting of votes will begin and the results will be declared by late evening.
Triangular contest between BJP, Congress, AAP
The ruling BJP and opposition Congress are locked in a tight fight in the civic body elections, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is trying to find a foothold in the hill state, making the contest a triangular one.
The stakes are high for the ruling BJP, particularly for chief minister Jai Ram Thakur in his hometown of Mandi, as the saffron party looks to continue its winning streak in the elections.
BJP faces rebellion in Mandi, Dharamshala and Palampur
Capturing the Mandi Municipal Corporation is not going to be a cakewalk for the BJP in the face of rebellion by local MLA Anil Sharma, a former state power minister, who refused to campaign for the party.
In Dharamshala and Palampur also, the ruling BJP faces rebellion from senior party leaders contesting the elections as independents after being denied the ticket.
Voting on for 121 panchayats, too
Six newly formed nagar panchayats, including Chirgaon and Nerwa in Shimla, Aani, Nirmand in Kullu, Kandaghat in Solan and Amb in Una are also going to the polls.
Voting is underway in 121 panchayats in three blocks of Shimla and Mandi districts.
The state electoral officer said that voting is being held in 48 panchayats of Chopal block and 24 panchayats of Totu block in Shimla district and 49 panchayats of Dharampur block in Mandi district.