Punjab is getting ready for local body elections in state and voting will take place on May 26 in 104 urban local bodies which include eight Municipal Corporations and the announcement for the same was made on Monday by State Election Commissioner Raj Kamal Chaudhari.
These elections are important because they decide local level leaders like councillors and municipal representatives who handle basic city services like roads, water supply, sanitation and street lighting and these polls are also being seen as an early political test before next big Assembly elections in the state that are due in 2027.
The entire election process will start on May 13 when candidates can begin filing their nomination papers and this means people who want to contest election can officially submit their names.
May 13 to May 16: Filing of nomination papers
May 18: Checking of nomination forms
May 19: Last date to withdraw nomination
May 26: Voting day
May 29: Counting of votes & result declaration
Candidates will be able to submit their papers between 11 am and 3 pm each day and after submission officials will check all documents carefully on May 18 to make sure everything is correct and if a candidate wants to step back from election they can withdraw their name on May 19 and after this election symbols will be given to candidates and the campaigning phase will become more active.
Voting will take place on May 26 across Punjab in 104 urban local bodies and after voting is over counting of votes will happen on May 29 and results will be announced on the same day.
To make sure elections are fair and transparent Election Commission has decided to record nomination process on video and this is being done so that everything is properly documented and there is no confusion or complaint later also senior officers like IAS and PCS officers will be appointed as observers and these officers will travel across different areas to make sure election process is being followed correctly.
All political parties will contest the elections using their own party symbols.
Voting will be held for Municipal Corporations in several major cities, including Bathinda, Moga, Pathankot, Hoshiarpur, Batala, Mohali (SAS Nagar (Mohali)), Abohar, Barnala and Kapurthala and along with these many municipal councils across Punjab will also vote making it a total of 104 local bodies going to polls earlier, these local bodies were dissolved by the government and temporary administrators were appointed to manage local work until elections were announced.
Elections will not be held in Hoshiarpur right now and the reason is that voter list is still being updated there and officials have said that elections there may happen after 4 to 5 months once the list is fully ready similarly elections in Sham Churasi municipal council have also been postponed and this is due to issues related to reservation of wards which still need to be sorted out.
According to Election Commission final voter list was already published on May 5 so preparations for voting are almost complete and the government has also sent official notifications to concerned departments so that election process can run smoothly and on time.
These elections are not just about local administration and they are also politically important because all major parties in Punjab including Aam Aadmi Party, Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party, and Shiromani Akali Dal will contest them seriously since these elections come before Assembly elections they are expected to show which party has stronger support at ground level and because of this campaigning is expected to become very active in coming days
