Forty-six per cent of over 51 lakh eligible voters cast their votes for civic body polls in Haryana on Sunday, officials said. The polling was peaceful, they added.
Voting was held to elect mayors and ward members in seven municipal corporations -- Gurugram, Manesar, Faridabad, Hisar, Rohtak, Karnal, and Yamunanagar. Bypolls for the mayor's post in Ambala and Sonipat were also held.
Elections were also held to elect presidents and ward members of four municipal councils -- Ambala Sadar, Pataudi Jatoli Mandi, Thanesar, and Sirsa.
The voting, which began at 8 am, concluded at 6 pm. The turnout in the civic polls was recorded at 46 per cent, the officials said, adding that the overall percentage may slightly increase once the entire data is collected.
A bypoll was held for the post of president in the Sohna Municipal Council.
Voting also took place for the election of presidents and ward members in 21 municipal committees. Bypolls for the president's post in the municipal committees of Assandh (Karnal district) and Ismailabad (Kurukshetra district) were also conducted.
Ahead of the polls, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini exuded confidence that the BJP would win the elections and had said work would be done three times faster after the formation of a triple-engine government.
The Congress has appealed to voters to elect its candidates with a full majority. The grand old party, out of office in Haryana for more than 10 years, is looking to turn around its electoral fortunes in the civic polls.
Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar was among the early voters, casting his vote at a booth in Karnal. Union minister of state Krishan Pal Gurjar cast his vote at a booth in Faridabad.
Haryana Minister Anil Vij, who cast his vote in Ambala Cantt, said, "All voters should participate in the greatest festival of democracy. A triple-engine government will be formed in Haryana."
Sunderlal Yadav, the BJP's mayoral candidate for Manesar, where municipal elections were held for the first time, cast his vote at a booth in the Manesar area.
Gurugram district's Farukh Nagar recorded nearly 60 per cent polling till 4 pm. In Gurugram, the turnout was around 30 per cent while it was over 55 percent in Manesar.
In Ambala district, the turnout was nearly 24 per cent in Ambala, 41 per cent in Ambala Sadar and 59 per cent in Barara. In Faridabad, the turnout at 4 pm was around 32 per cent. Narnaund in Hisar district recorded a turnout of 74 per cent while Hisar registered 43 per cent.
In Taoru of Nuh district, 68 per cent of voters exercised their franchise. The turnout was 40 per cent in Rohtak and more than 22 per cent in Sonipat.
Gurugram Deputy Commissioner cum District Election Officer Ajay Kumar said 1,109 booths had been set up, including for Gurugram, Manesar and Pataudi.
A total of 151 candidates are contesting the post of president in 23 municipal committees.
Polling for the Panipat Municipal Corporation will be held on March 9.
The votes will be counted on March 12 and the results declared the same day.
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