Shimla: Himachal Pradesh witnessed a voter turnout of 78.8% in the first phase of panchayat elections held across 1,293 gram panchayats on Tuesday. The State Election Commission confirmed that polling for the subsequent two phases is scheduled for May 28 and 30.
Voter Participation Details
A total of 18.2 lakh voters were eligible to cast their ballots in the first phase, with polling conducted from 7 am to 3 pm. Notably, women recorded a higher turnout at 82.01%, compared to men at 75.68%. Among the notable voters was 113-year-old Manglu Devi from Bilaspur. Kullu district registered the highest polling at 84.43%, while Lahaul and Spiti recorded the lowest at 69.40%. Other districts saw significant participation: Sirmaur at 82.57%, Solan at 81.06%, Shimla at 79.95%, Mandi at 79.39%, Chamba at 80.61%, Una at 78.76%, Bilaspur at 77.39%, Kangra at 75.75%, Hamirpur at 73.05%, and Kinnaur at 73.59%. The turnout figure may increase slightly after final reports are received. The highest polling of around 97% was recorded in Gram Panchayat Kunair-Dhamoun of Tilor Dhar in Kamrau development block of Sirmaur district.
Incidents and Repolling
Although the first phase of elections proceeded peacefully, minor altercations among voters were reported from a few locations. The Election Commission set up an auxiliary polling station in the remote Gram Panchayat Bara Bhangal of Baijnath development block in Kangra district, where 101 voters cast their votes. The results of the voting, which used colour-coded ballot papers for gram panchayat members, pradhan, and up-pradhan, were announced on Tuesday evening. However, the results for 250 zila parishad wards and 1,684 panchayat samiti wards will be announced on May 31 after all three phases conclude.
Election Discrepancies
The Election Commission stated that the election for the ward member post in Ward No. 3-Dila of Gram Panchayat Chambi in Chamba development block was cancelled due to the death of a candidate. Additionally, polling was suspended in a ward in the Karsog sub-division of Mandi district after the name of a candidate contesting for the Block Development Committee (BDC) was found missing from the ballot papers. The lapse was discovered when polling began at 7 am, and the candidate, Hoshiar Singh, noticed his name was absent. In Ward No. 1 Brandli-1 of Gram Panchayat Narain in Rampur development block of Shimla district, a NOTA stamp was used along with the Swastik symbol stamp during polling. Consequently, the election was postponed, and the commission will conduct the election on May 30.
Unopposed Candidates
A total of 10,854 candidates were elected unopposed in the ongoing panchayati raj institution elections in the state. This includes 85 members of panchayat samitis, 176 gram panchayat pradhans, 286 up-pradhans, and 10,307 ward members. Additionally, 131 gram panchayats were elected unanimously without any contest. According to the initial Election Commission notification, polling for a total of 3,754 gram panchayats in the state was to be conducted in three phases on May 26, May 28, and May 30. Elections were scheduled for a total of 31,182 posts, including 21,654 gram panchayat members, 3,754 pradhans, 3,754 up-pradhans, 1,679 panchayat samiti members, and 251 zila parishad members. Over 50.79 lakh voters, including more than 52,000 first-time voters, are eligible to cast their votes across all three phases.
