Campaigning for ULBs elections ends | ‘Will win municipal corporations’: Sukhvinder Sukhu in Solan, Jai Ram Thakur holds road show in Mandi
The ULBs elections will be held in four Municipal Corporations including Solan, Mandi, Palampur and Dharamshala, along with 25 Municipal Councils and 22 Nagar Panchayats.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. (File Photo) The campaigning for the Himachal Pradesh Urban Local Bodies (ULB) elections, scheduled for May 17, ended Friday, with Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur addressing their rallies in Solan and Mandi, respectively.
The ULBs elections will be held in four Municipal Corporations including Solan, Mandi, Palampur and Dharamshala, along with 25 Municipal Councils and 22 Nagar Panchayats. The municipal corporations elections will be contested with party symbols, while the municipal council and nagar panchayats polls will be contested without them.
At Solan, the Himachal Pradesh CM said the Congress is poised to win in all four municipal corporations across the state as the party holds a strong position in each of them.
Claiming that the BJP is wrecked by factionalism, Sukhu claimed that Jai Ram Thakur is under much stress as the saffron party may remove him from the post.
He also accused the BJP for rising fuel prices. While petrol and diesel prices are being hiked, the PM has advised austerity, which may lead to a decline in revenue generation, the CM said.
Meanwhile, former chief minister and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Jai Ram Thakur held a mega road show in all wards of Mandi.
The State Election Commission declared dry-day for the areas where the ULB elections are to be held on May 17. The liquor vends and bars will remain closed till 3 pm on the day of voting.
The Himachal SEC, Friday, also issued directions to all the District Election Officers-cum-Deputy Commissioners. The directions said the advocates — who have already cast their vote in the Bar Council elections and have indelible ink marked on the left index finger — will still be allowed to vote in the local body elections.
The directions came in response to a reference received from the ARO/SDM Mandi (MC Election) on May 14 seeking guidance on the issue.
The SEC Secretary, Surjeet Singh Rathore, directed that the advocates’ identity will first be verified through their Advocate Identity Card or Bar Council Identity Card. After the due verification, they will be permitted to cast their vote by applying indelible ink on the right-hand index finger instead.
According to the SEC, a total of 1,147 candidates are in the fray for 439 posts across the state. Their electoral fate will be decided by nearly 3.80 lakh voters, including 1,80,963 male voters and 1,79,882 female voters. A total of 14 voters have registered under the “other” category.
The Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and other election materials will be distributed to the polling parties on Saturday.
The officials have directed all the polling teams to reach their respective stations by Saturday evening and complete booth preparations to ensure that voting begins on time the next day.
Officials said that up to 15 candidates’ names can be accommodated on a single EVM unit.
The NOTA (None of the Above) option will be placed at the end of the list of candidates on the EVMs.
– With PTI inputs
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