Chandigarh (Gurpreet Singh): Punjab’s urban local body elections began on Tuesday morning, setting the stage for a politically significant contest widely seen as an early indicator ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
Polling started at 8 am across the state and will continue till 5 pm, with more than 35 lakh registered voters expected to participate in deciding the fate of 7,555 candidates contesting across municipal corporations, municipal councils and nagar panchayats.
The elections are being held for eight municipal corporations, 75 municipal councils and 20 nagar panchayats, making it one of the largest civic exercises in the state in recent years.
To ensure smooth and peaceful voting, the State Election Commission has deployed nearly 32,000 police personnel and around 35,000 election staff across polling centres.
State Election Commissioner Raj Kamal Chaudhari said special security arrangements had been made for vulnerable booths. According to officials, 740 polling stations have been identified as sensitive, while 274 have been categorised as hyper-sensitive, with additional security deployment in these locations.
The contest has drawn participation from all major political parties. Of the total candidates in the fray, 1,801 belong to the Aam Aadmi Party, 1,550 to the Congress, 1,316 to the Bharatiya Janata Party, 1,251 to the Shiromani Akali Dal, and 96 represent the Bahujan Samaj Party. In addition, 1,528 candidates are contesting as Independents.
During scrutiny, nomination papers of 713 candidates were rejected, reducing the final list of contestants.
The electorate comprises 18,33,712 male voters, 17,11,635 female voters, and 220 voters registered under the ‘other’ category.
Political observers believe the outcome of these elections could provide crucial insight into public mood and party strength ahead of Punjab’s next Assembly election battle.
Vote counting will take place after polling concludes, with results expected to shape the political narrative in the state over the coming months.
