PANCHAYAT ELECTIONS: 16,945 in fray for 7,332 posts of sarpanch, panch
As many as 16,945 candidates were in the poll fray for 7,332 posts of sarpanch and panch in 941 villages across 13 blocks in the district, officials have said.
While 3,753 nominations have been filed for 941 posts of sarpanch, another 13,192 nominees were contesting for 6,391 posts of panch, Deputy Commissioner Jitendra Jorwal has said.
While Friday was the last date for filing nominations, scrutiny of nomination papers took place on Saturday. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is October 7. The polling, wherever required, will be held on October 15, from 8 am to 4 pm, through the use of ballot boxes. The results will be declared after counting of the votes on the same day at polling stations following the completion of the elections.
The DC said 3,425 nomination papers were received for the posts of sarpanch and 12,395 for the posts of panch on Friday, which took the tally to 3,753 candidates for sarpanch posts and 13,192 nominees for panch posts.
He said the scrutiny of nomination papers was underway and the papers not conforming to the Election Commission mandate would be rejected while others would be cleared for the contest.
According to the official data available with The Tribune, 303 nomination papers for the posts of sarpanch were received on October 1 and 20 were filed on September 30. As many as, 746 candidates had filed their nominations for the posts of panch on October 1 and 39 had entered the poll fray on September 30.
The block-wise break-up of nominations filed for the posts of sarpanch revealed that 174 candidates were in the poll fray for 46 posts in Dehlon, 232 for 62 posts in Doraha, 400 for 81 posts in Jagraon, 283 for 67 posts in Khanna, 445 for 109 posts in Ludhiana-1, 584 for 160 posts in Ludhiana-2, 385 for 116 posts in Machhiwara, 193 for 48 posts in Maloud, 177 for 39 posts in Pakhowal, 178 for 42 posts in Raikot, 218 for 62 posts in Samrala, 256 for 61 posts in Sidhwan Bet and 228 candidates were in the fray for 48 posts in the Sudhar block.
For the posts of panch, 752 nominations have been filed for 342 posts in the Dehlon block, 934 for 420 posts in Doraha, 1,241 for 589 posts in Jagraon, 936 for 451 posts in Khanna, 1,604 for 775 posts in Ludhiana-1, 1,879 for 1,020 posts in Ludhiana-2, 1,141 for 660 posts in Machhiwara, 716 for 326 posts in Maloud, 733 for 305 posts in Pakhowal, 741 for 312 posts in Raikot, 740 for 410 posts in Samrala, 878 for 383 posts in Sidhwan Bet and 897 candidates were vying for 398 posts in the Sudhar block.
According to the election schedule, the filing of nominations that had commenced from September 27 ended on October 4. Scrutiny of nomination papers took place on October 5 and the last date for withdrawal of nominations is October 7.
The expenditure limit for a candidate contesting for the post of sarpanch has been fixed at Rs 40,000 whereas those in the fray for the post of panch can spend a maximum of Rs 30,000.
As many as 96,000 personnel have been deputed on election duty with 23 senior IAS and PCS officers appointed as general observers to ensure smooth and peaceful conduct of the poll at 19,110 polling booths across the state.
The panchayat polls were announced after the state Assembly had last month passed the Punjab Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2024, for holding the elections to elect sarpanch and panch without symbols of political parties. It has brought an end to the direct contest between recognised political parties.
