Around 72 per cent polling was recorded in 47 municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Himachal Pradesh, while 63.61 per cent of the electorate exercised their franchise in the four municipal corporations on Sunday. The polling was peaceful throughout the state, State Chief Election Commissioner Anil Khachi said.
Polling for 51 urban local bodies commenced at 7 am and concluded at 3 pm. Voting was held simultaneously in 64 wards in the four municipal corporations of Dharamshala, Solan, Mandi and Palampur, 229 wards in 25 municipal councils and 156 wards in 22 nagar panchayats in a single phase, with as many as 1,147 candidates in the fray for 449 posts.
Khachi said 72.42 per cent polling was recorded in municipal councils and nagar panchayats, and 63. 61 per cent in municipal corporations. He said that the percentage could increase slightly.
A 70-year-old man, Anjan Sharma, died near a polling booth while he was on his way to cast his vote in municipal council elections in Chamba. Preliminary reports suggest that he suffered a heart attack.
There was some commotion when BJP MLA from Una Satpal Singh Satti entered a booth in Ward Number 6 in Santagorh in his constituency.
The voting percentage was 63.72 in the municipal corporations of Dharamshala and Palampur in Kangra district, 68.78 per cent in Mandi and 58.32 per cent in Solan. Women voters surpassed men in Kangra and Mandi while male voters exceeded in Solan district Municipal Corporation polls.
The highest polling percentage in municipal councils and nagar panchayats was 78.89 in Hamirpur, followed by 77.36 in Shimla, 77 in Una, 76.94 in Solan, 74.51 in Kangra, 73.35 in Mandi, 72.06 in Bilaspur, 68.22 in Chamba, 67.80 in Kullu and 67.24 in Sirmaur district.
The counting of votes for municipal councils and nagar panchayats has started.
Counting for the four municipal corporations, where elections are being contested on party lines, will be held on May 31 and the electronic voting machines have been deposited in strong rooms under tight security, officials said.
Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Shanta Kumar (92), who cast his vote in the Palampur Municipal Corporation election, said he was happy to get an opportunity to vote at his age.
"India is the largest democracy in the world and elections are the biggest festival, but the people have not learnt to celebrate this festival properly." Shanta Kumar said, "People say leaders are corrupt, but I don't believe it. The day people start electing honest and hard-working leaders and defeat corrupt candidates, corruption would end automatically." A total of 3,60,859 voters, including 1,80,963 men, 1,79,882 women and 14 others, were eligible to exercise their franchise. The electorate also includes 1,808 first-time voters, comprising 961 men and 847 women.
Also read: Himachal hikes power cost, imposes ₹ 1 per unit cess
Follow us
