Atish Gupta
Chandigarh, 21 December
In Punjab, votes are being cast for the elections of five municipal corporations and 41 municipal councils and municipal panchayats. Polling began at 7 am under tight security and will continue till 4 pm. Officials said that the votes will be counted at the polling stations only after the polling is over.
It may be mentioned that elections are being held in Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala and Phagwara Municipal Corporations. More than 3,300 candidates are in the fray for the civic polls, officials said, adding that a total of 3,809 polling booths have been set up.
Suicide attempt by BJP candidate
News of various incidents are coming out in Patiala since morning. Sushil, the BJP candidate in Ward No. 34 of Patiala, has alleged that fake votes are being cast. In protest, he tried to commit suicide by pouring petrol on himself. Meanwhile, the police stopped and arrested the candidates. BJP leader Bibi Jayinder Kaur also reached the occasion of the incident.
Amritsar at 10:42 AM Voting continues in 85 wards of the municipal corporation and five municipal councils of the district. Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sahni visited some polling booths and took stock. He said that 9 percent polling was done in Amritsar till 9 am. 12 percent voting has been done in Ajnala and 10 percent in Baba Bakala. He said that pink booths have also been constructed at some places. Jagtar Singh Lamba
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10:30 am Patiala There are reports of a clash in Ward No. 40 during the elections for the Municipal Corporation, during which bricks were pelted between the two parties and there is also news of a security guard being injured on this occasion.
Biba Jai Inder Kaur, the president of BJP Mahila Morcha and daughter of former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, also reached the spot when such an incident came to know. Those who while talking to the media have alleged that the attack has been carried out by the persons invited from Haryana by the ruling party./Sarabjit Singh Bhangu
10 am: Ludhiana Voting for the municipal corporation elections started at 7 am, but due to the cold weather, the voters did not leave their homes in the morning. But with the passage of time voters started coming. According to the information given by the administration, only 5.4 percent voting has taken place in Municipal Corporation Ludhiana till 9 am. 9.8 percent voting took place in the councils. While 16.1 percent votes have been cast in Malud. Gagandeep Arora
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Despite the cold weather, people are coming out of their homes and reaching the polling stations to vote. Meanwhile, in Patiala, before voting started in the morning, a minor clash occurred in Ward No. 40. As soon as they got information about this, the Patiala police reached the spot and calmed down the matter.
It is worth mentioning that security has been provided to around two dozen BJP candidates who entered the election field during the Municipal Corporation Patiala election. Two to three security personnel have been provided to all candidates in BJP’s Patiala this morning.
09:45 hrs On the other hand, Sukhwinder Pal Singh, the husband of an Akali Dal candidate who is contesting the election from Ward No. 11 of Patiala, went to a tank in his area accusing the ruling party of bullying. Sukhwinder Pal also accused the opponents of threatening him while holding a press conference yesterday./Sarabjit Singh Bhangu
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Officials said that adequate security arrangements have been made. These elections are considered important as they will reveal the popularity of the ruling party among urban voters. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann conducted a road show and election campaign for AAP candidates before the elections. This will also be the first test for Aman Arora after being appointed as the chief of AAP’s Punjab unit. News-Patiala