Punjab civic polls: Voting underway; police on high alert after reports of possible threat

Polling for civic body elections in Punjab is currently underway. According to the officials, the voting began at 8 am on Sunday morning and it will continue till 4 pm. A total of 9,222 candidates are in the fray for elections to 2,302 wards of the 8 municipal corporations of Abohar, Bathinda Batala, Kapurthala, Mohali, Hoshiarpur, Pathankot and Moga and 109 municipal councils and nagar panchayats in the state.

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Punjab Civic Polls: 'Voting underway'

In Punjab's civic body elections, out of the total 9,222 candidates, 2,832 are contesting as independents, 2,037 are of ruling Congress, while 1,569 are Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) nominees. The number of candidates of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is 1,003, 1,606 and 160 respectively.

The State Election Commission (SEC) has set up 4,102 polling stations, of which, 1,708 have been declared as sensitive and 861 as hypersensitive. A voter who enters the polling station before 4 pm will have the right to vote, an SEC spokesperson said. Around 7,000 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) have been deployed for voting.

As many as 19,000 police personnel have been deputed to conduct free and fair elections, the spokesperson said. There are 20,49,777 male, 18,65,354 female and 149 transgender voters, totalling 39,15,280 registered voters in the state for the civic body elections, he said. The counting of votes will take place on February 17. 

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Punjab Civic Polls: Punjab Police put on high alert

Just a day before the Punjab civic polls, the state police was placed on high alert after intelligence reports suggested a possible threat to BJP candidates. As per sources, the Punjab Police has issued an alert to all district police heads citing a possible action by people active in the ongoing farm agitation against BJP party workers and candidates. Farmers from Punjab have been at the forefront of the ongoing agitation at borders of the national capital against the three farm laws introduced by the BJP-led Centre. 

As per intelligence inputs received by the Punjab police, it is likely that farmer organisations, radical groups and political parties may gherao BJP candidates and workers restricting them from casting their votes. In a letter to district authorities, Punjab Police has also stated that booth capturing and violent clashes cannot be ruled out. Further, top officials have issued directions for proper security arrangements to avoid deterioration of the law and order situation.

As per the Punjab Election Commission, all arrangements are in place for the polling slated to happen on Sunday. The voting for elections to eight municipal corporations of Abohar, Bathinda, Batala, Kapurthala, Mohali, Hoshiarpur, Pathankot and Moga and 109 municipal councils and nagar panchayats in the state will be held on February 14 from 8 am till 4 pm. 

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Counting of votes on Feb 17

The official spokesperson of the State Election Commission said that the counting of votes will take place on February 17. Around 7,000 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) have been deployed for voting. A total of 25,010 employees have also been deputed.  Around 19,000 police personnel have been deputed to conduct free and fair elections, said the spokesperson. There are 20,49,777 male, 18,65,354 female and 149 transgender voters, totalling 39,15,280 registered voters in the state of Punjab for the civic elections. A total of 30 IAS or PCS officers have been deputed as observers to conduct free and fair elections, said the spokesperson.  In these elections, 50 per cent of seats have been reserved for women.

Significantly, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the BJP will lock horns in the civic polls after the former exited the National Democratic Alliance over the farm laws issue last year. SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and other party leaders campaigned for their party candidates. The BJP leaders and candidates had faced farmers' protest during campaigning with the saffron party accusing the Congress of unleashing hooliganism in the guise of farmers. The Opposition had accused the Congress of misusing the government machinery to win these polls, a charge denied by the ruling party.

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(With PTI inputs)