Civic body polls to be conducted in Himachal Pradesh tomorrow

Local body elections will be held in 29 nagar parishads and 21 nagar panchayats across Himachal Pradesh in a single phase on Sunday amidst the coronavirus pandemic. The polling will take place from 8am to 4pm amid strict Covid-19 guidelines. The counting of votes will be taken up immediately after the polling on January 10 itself.

The State Election Commission informed the polls will be conducted in adherence to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and guidelines will be followed keeping in mind the coronavirus pandemic. It is therefore mandatory for every person to wear a face mask during election-related activity. Social distancing shall also be maintained as per the guidelines of the state government and the ministry of home affairs. Sanitisers will be used and thermal screening of all persons related to the election process as well as voters will be conducted at the entry of premises used for election purposes.

The nominations for the civic bodies were filed on December 24, 26 and 28 last year and the nomination papers were scrutinised on December 29. The list of candidates, including the names of contestants and their symbol was prepared and affixed on December 31.

The elections are a direct contest between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress. It is evident that the stakes are high for the parties as senior leaders of both the parties took part in the campaigning for the elections.

Union minister of state (MoS) for finance and corporate affairs and BJP leader Anurag Thakur asserted that his party will perform well in every corner of Himachal Pradesh in the upcoming Panchayati Raj polls.

“We won elections in Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and even the general election. In the coming days, Panchayati Raj polls will be held in Himachal Pradesh and I am confident that BJP will perform well in every corner of the state,” Thakur said while addressing people of Himachal Pradesh via video-conference on completion of three years of Jai Ram Thakur-led BJP government in the state.