Polling for panchayats ends in Pb; 2 firing incidents reported

Chandigarh: Polling to elect gram panchayat members concluded amid tight security arrangements in Punjab on Tuesday, officials said. Two incidents of firing were reported, they added. Voting for the posts of “sarpanch” and “panch” through ballots started at 8 am and concluded at 4 pm, the officials said, adding that a voter turnout of more than 45 per cent was recorded.

The polling percentage is likely to go up once the data is compiled, they said. After the polling, the votes will be counted at the polling stations, the officials said. A firing incident was reported outside a polling booth in Sohan Sain Bhagat village in Tarn Taran district, leaving a man injured. Mandeep Singh was rushed to a hospital where his condition was stated to be out of danger. A police official said a scuffle took place between two groups, adding that the matter is being investigated.

Another firing incident was reported from Khudda village in Patiala district, leaving one person injured. A police official said 20-25 unidentified people arrived at a polling booth, allegedly manhandled the polling staff and took away a ballot box. Subsequently, they left the ballot box behind in a nearby field, the official said. Congress MP Dharamvira Gandhi, who visited the spot, demanded strict action in the matter.

In Ballagan village in Amritsar, two groups clashed and pelted stones at each other at a polling booth. At a polling booth in Lohke Khurd village in Ferozepur’s Zira, an unidentified person tried to throw ink on a ballot box. An official said the incident has been brought to the notice of senior officials for further action. Sub-Inspector Lakha Singh (53), who was posted on election duty at Dhilwan village in Barnala district, passed away, a police official said.

After he felt uneasy, he was taken to a hospital where he died, the official added. Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian, along with his son, cast his vote in Khudian village in Muktsar district while Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains exercised his franchise in Gambhirpur village in Anandpur Sahib. Talking to reporters, Bains appealed to people to turn out in large numbers to cast their votes in order to elect those who would work for the development of the villages.

The State Election Commission cancelled the polling in Dalla and Pona villages in Ludhiana’s Jagraon subdivision due to certain technical reasons. The next date of polling in these villages would be announced later, the officials said.

A total of 19,110 polling booths, including 1,187 marked as hyper-sensitive, were set up for the election. The state has 13,225 gram panchayats. Polling for the posts of “sarpanch” was held in 9,398 gram panchayats. A total of 3,798 candidates were already elected unopposed for the posts of “sarpanch”. Elderly people, women and youngsters were seen standing in queues outside several polling booths in the morning.

The polls were held without the symbols of political parties as a consequence of the Punjab Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2024 passed by the Assembly last month. A total of 1.33 crore people were eligible to vote. There were 25,588 candidates in the fray for the posts of “sarpanch” and 80,598 nominees contested the polls for the posts of “panch”, the officials said. Around 96,000 personnel were deputed on election duty.