Chandigarh

Polling for Punjab’s municipal elections witnessed a voter turnout of 31.6 per cent till noon on Tuesday, even as a Congress candidate in Raikot was injured in an alleged attack by a group armed with sharp-edged weapons, officials said.

Jagdev Singh Jagga, the Congress nominee from Ward No. 4 in Raikot, sustained injuries in the attack and was admitted to a private hospital in Ludhiana for treatment.

Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring condemned the incident and criticised the AAP-led state government over the prevailing law and order situation.

“The attack on Congress candidate Jagdev Singh Jagga in Raikot reflects a complete breakdown of law and order under the Bhagwant Mann government. If candidates contesting elections are not safe, one can imagine the plight of ordinary citizens,” Warring said in a post on X.

Voting for 103 municipal bodies across the state began at 8 am through ballot papers and will continue till 5 pm. The counting of votes is scheduled for May 29.

The elections are being held for 1,896 wards spread across eight municipal corporations — Mohali, Bathinda, Abohar, Barnala, Kapurthala, Moga, Batala and Pathankot — in addition to 75 municipal councils and 20 Nagar Panchayats.

A total of 7,555 candidates are contesting the polls. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has fielded the maximum number of candidates at 1,801, followed by the Congress with 1,550 nominees. The BJP has 1,316 candidates in the fray, while the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has fielded 1,251 candidates. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has 96 candidates, besides 1,528 Independents.

Long queues of voters, especially women and senior citizens, were seen outside polling booths during the morning hours as people preferred to cast their votes before temperatures rose further due to the heatwave conditions.

Punjab BJP working president Ashwani Sharma cast his vote in Pathankot and appealed to citizens to participate actively in the democratic process to help build a “developed Pathankot.”

AAP MLA Amansher Singh Sherry Kalsi exercised his franchise in Batala.

Punjab Congress chief Raja Warring reached a polling station in Muktsar on a bullock cart along with his wife Amrita Warring. He said the symbolic gesture was intended to highlight the hardships faced by common people because of rising fuel prices.

Punjab ministers Aman Arora and Harjot Singh Bains also urged people to come out and vote. Arora, accompanied by his wife, cast his vote in Sunam.

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia alleged inadequate arrangements for differently-abled voters, claiming that many polling stations lacked wheelchairs for those unable to walk independently.

Among the total contestants, 1,613 candidates are fighting elections in 396 wards of the eight municipal corporations. Another 5,142 candidates are contesting in 1,282 wards of 75 municipal councils, while 800 candidates are in the fray for 218 wards of the 20 Nagar Panchayats.

Punjab has 35,45,567 registered voters for these local body polls, including 17,11,635 women voters and 220 voters categorised under others.

Officials said 740 polling booths have been identified as sensitive and 275 as hyper-sensitive.

To ensure smooth and peaceful polling, around 35,000 election staff and 32,000 police personnel have been deployed across the state.

The Punjab government has declared a public holiday on May 26 for all state government offices, boards, corporations and educational institutions, including those located in Chandigarh, to facilitate voter participation.

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The civic polls are being viewed as politically significant for the AAP, BJP, Congress and SAD as they come ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections.