Shimla: With polling for Himachal Pradesh's 51 urban local bodies scheduled for Sunday, governor Kavinder Gupta on Saturday appealed to the voters to participate enthusiastically in the democratic process and cast their votes responsibly.
Door-to-door campaigning for urban local body elections concluded on Saturday, setting the stage for the polling in four municipal corporations – Dharamsala, Solan, Mandi and Palampur – along with 25 municipal councils and 22 nagar panchayats. Elections will be held for 449 wards across the state.
Describing the urban local body elections as the foundation for building vibrant and well-governed cities, the governor said every eligible voter should come forward and exercise their franchise. He made a special appeal to the first-time voters and the youth, urging them to participate actively in the election. Voting for the first time is both a constitutional right and a proud responsibility towards nation-building, said Gupta.
Polling will be held from 7 am to 3 pm on May 17. Counting for municipal councils and nagar panchayats will begin immediately after the voting, and results are expected by Sunday evening. However, results for the four municipal corporations will be declared on May 31.
More than 3.60 lakh people, including 1.79 lakh women and 14 ‘other' voters, are eligible to vote in the urban local body elections. Among these, 1,808 voters will cast their vote for the first time. The election commission has established 589 polling stations and deployed nearly 15,000 employees for election duty across the state.
