The second phase of panchayat elections in Himachal Pradesh witnessed a robust overall voter turnout of 80% across 1,276 gram panchayats on Thursday, as per the state election commission. Polling for the third and final phase in the remaining panchayats is scheduled for May 30.
Phase-wise Voting Details
The first phase, held on May 26 for 1,293 gram panchayats, recorded a turnout of 78.9%. In the second phase, a total of 17.28 lakh voters—comprising 8.74 lakh men, 8.55 lakh women, and 17 others—were eligible to cast their ballots. Polling commenced at 7 am and concluded at 3 pm.
Women voters outperformed men, with 83.01% exercising their franchise compared to 76.73% of men. The results for gram panchayat members, pradhan, and up-pradhan, determined through colour-coded ballot papers, were announced on Thursday evening. However, the outcomes for 250 zila parishad wards and 1,684 panchayat samiti wards will be declared on May 31, combining all three phases.
District-wise Turnout
The highest polling percentage was recorded in Kullu district at 85.52%, followed by Sirmaur (85.16%), Solan (83.62%), Mandi (80.98%), Shimla (80.68%), Chamba (79.99%), Una (79.73%), Bilaspur (78.95%), Kangra (76.39%), Hamirpur (74.94%), Kinnaur (76.29%), and Lahaul and Spiti (69.38%). The final turnout may slightly increase after complete ground reports are received.
In nine out of the 12 districts, the percentage of women voters surpassed that of male voters. The highest polling of around 96% was observed in gram panchayat Dhela under Nalagarh development block in Solan district.
Notable Incidents
Among the notable voters was 116-year-old Khadku Ram, who cast his vote in Dashmal gram panchayat under Sujanpur sub-division of Hamirpur district. Meanwhile, 288 voters from ward number one of Re gram panchayat in Hamirpur boycotted the election due to the non-availability of drinking water facilities despite repeated representations.
Unopposed Candidates
A total of 10,854 candidates were elected unopposed in the ongoing panchayati raj institution elections before polling. 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.
Election Overview
As per the initial election commission notification, polling for 3,754 gram panchayats 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 vote across all three phases.
