Chandigarh, August
26
The State Election Commission today announced general elections to 26 municipal councils and nagar panchayats and byelections in 17 municipal bodies to fill vacant slots of municipal councillors. The elections will be held in September.
Mr C.L. Bains, State Election Commissioner, told The Tribune that general elections had been ordered in those towns where the municipal bodies had either completed their tenure or would do so in the next few weeks. There are more than 100 municipal bodies in the state.
Obviously, it will be a mini test of popularity for various political parties which have already started preparing for the Assembly elections to be held in 15 months’ time from now. Certain towns where the elections will be held fall in home district (Patiala) of the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh. The elections will set the tone and agenda for the Assembly poll.
Mr Bains said the last date for filing nominations would be September 8. The scrutiny of nomination papers would be held on September 9. The last date for the withdrawal of candidatures would be September 10. Polling would be held on September 18. The entire election process would be completed by September 21.
Mr Bains said that as September 10 (Saturday) was not a holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act, the withdrawal of candidatures would take place on that day.
The towns where the elections will be held include Dharmkot and Bagapurana in Moga district and Amloh in Fatehgarh Sahib district. The others are Khemkaran and Raja Sansi in Amritsar district, Makhu in Ferozepore district, Mahilpur in Hoshiarpur district, Goraya and Shahkot in Jalandhar and Begowal, Dhilwan, and Bholath in Kapurthala district.
The poll will also be held in Machhiwara, Maloud, Sahnewal and Mullanpur in Ludhiana district, Bhikhi in Mansa district, Bariwala in Muktsar, Balachaur in Nawanshahr district, Ghanure and Ghagga in Patiala district and Dirba, Moonak, Cheema, Khanauri and Handiayaya in Sangrur district.
The towns and cities where byelections will be held include Amritsar (ward numbers 34, 56 and 60), Ludhiana (ward number 66) and Patiala (ward number 9). The others are Abohar (ward number 30), Ahmedgarh (ward number 10), Anandpur Sahib (ward number 13), Budhlada (ward number 4), Dhanula (ward number 4), Dhuri (ward number 16), Doraha (ward number 12), Fazilka (ward number 11), Garhshankar (ward number 3), Gurdaspur (ward number 3), Kapurthala (ward number 21), Kurali (ward numbers 1 and 7), Sirhind (ward numbers 2 and 9) and Sultanpur Lodhi (ward number 10).
The schedule for the byelections would be the same as in the case of the general elections.
