Shimla, May 24
Amid an intense heatwave sweeping across Himachal Pradesh, the State Election Commission (SEC) is geared up to conduct the first phase of polling for Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) elections on Monday, May 26, to elect representatives for 31,182 posts across the state around 51 lakh voters to cost their votes using postal ballot.
State Election Commissioner Anil Khachi said that elaborate arrangements had been made to ensure peaceful, free and fair polling across the state despite the prevailing weather conditions. “The Commission has completed all preparations and polling parties have already been dispatched to their respective destinations. Voters are requested to participate fearlessly and exercise their democratic rights responsibly,” he said.
According to the SEC, polling for the three-phase elections will be held on May 26, 28 and 30 from 7 am to 3 pm. The elections are being conducted for 3,754 posts of Pradhan, 3,754 posts of Up-Pradhan, 21,654 Gram Panchayat ward member posts, 1,769 Panchayat Samiti member seats and 251 Zila Parishad seats.
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The nomination process was conducted on May 7, 8 and 11, during which 86,204 nomination papers were filed. After scrutiny held on May 12 and 13, a total of 742 nomination papers were rejected. Following withdrawal of nominations on May 14 and 15, as many as 10,854 candidates were elected unopposed.
For the first phase of polling on May 26, voting will be held in 1,293 gram panchayats. A total of 21,678 polling stations have been established, including 3,554 sensitive and 1,585 hypersensitive booths. Additionally, one auxiliary polling station has been set up in Hamirpur district and two in Kinnaur district.
The Commission has constituted 8,198 polling parties for the elections. Khachi appealed to voters to maintain discipline at polling stations and cooperate with polling officials to ensure smooth conduct of the democratic exercise.
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