Chandigarh (Gurpreet Singh): The Punjab government has declared May 26 as a public holiday across the state to ensure maximum voter participation in the upcoming local body elections scheduled for the same day.
According to an official notification, the holiday has been announced to allow residents to exercise their democratic right during polling for 104 urban local bodies, including eight municipal corporations, several municipal councils and nagar panchayats.
The municipal corporations where voting will take place include Mohali, Bathinda, Abohar, Barnala, Kapurthala, Moga, Batala and Pathankot.
Apart from these major civic bodies, elections will also be conducted for 75 municipal councils and 21 nagar panchayats spread across different districts of the state.
The holiday order will apply to all Punjab government offices, boards, public sector undertakings, corporations and educational institutions. It will also cover state-run establishments located in Chandigarh, ensuring employees can cast their votes without disruption to their schedules.
Polling will be conducted using ballot papers, and authorities have completed necessary arrangements to ensure smooth and peaceful voting across all designated centres.
Election officials said counting of votes will be carried out on May 29, after which results for all contested civic bodies will be formally declared.
The local body elections are considered politically significant as they are expected to reflect public sentiment on governance and development issues at the grassroots level.
The state administration has urged citizens to make full use of the
