2,086 candidates left in fray for Kharar polls

He said 21 sarpanches and 187 panches had been declared elected unopposed, while a electorate of 1,20,809 would exercise their franchise during the polling.

The SDM disclosed that the administration has made elaborate security arrangements to ensure free, fair and peaceful polling in the ensuing panchayat polls in Kharar sub-division. The first phase of poll rehearsal had been held and the second phase of poll rehearsal will be held tomorrow and the polling parties would be sent to their respective destinations after the third and final phase of rehearsal on June 20, the SDM said.

Meanwhile, thousands of former panches and sarpanches of the sub-division, who had filed their nominations for the panchayat polls, have alleged that the Block Development and Panchayat Officers (BDPOs) of Kharar and Majri had accepted and rejected the nomination papers of several aspirants of opposition parties on flimsy grounds at the behest of ruling alliance’s pressure.

The villagers alleged that the concerned officials violated the election rules as well as the Panchayati Raj Act by rejecting the nomination papers on the basis of clerical errors, where it suited them most. The reasons for rejecting the nomination papers were not told to majority of the affected candidates, they alleged.

The aggrieved candidates have asked the Punjab State Election Commission to order a high-level into the large-scale irregularities committed during the panchayat poll process in Kharar sub-division and also demanded strict legal action against the guilty officials.

KHARAR:
Darshan Singh Dhaliwal, a township-based journalist of the Desh Sewak, has been elected president of the Kharar Journalists Association unanimously. Gagan Suri of Jansatta has been elected general secretary of the association at the general body meeting of the association, held at the MC office here under the chairmanship of Pawan Kumar Jain, the outgoing president of the association.