Elections to 5 MCs, 44 councils on Dec 21, nominations begin today

Elections to five municipal corporations, 44 municipal councils, nagar panchayats and bypoll for 49 wards of urban civic bodies in Punjab will be held on December 21.

These elections, which will be fought on party symbols, will test the mettle of the Congress, AAP, SAD and the BJP.

SAD, which did not contest the recently held four Assembly byelections, would be fielding its candidates in these civic polls, thus making it a four-cornered contest.

After the pronouncement of ‘tankhah’ to several Akali leaders, including former party chief Sukhbir Badal, the results would reveal if the public is willing to give them another chance or not.

The real contest, however, would be between the Congress and AAP. Earlier, the Congress had majority in four MCs — Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Patiala. The civic body polls would be a litmus test for AAP state president Aman Arora and PCC chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. On the one hand, Arora, a prominent Hindu face of AAP, has been appointed to lead the party with an aim to woo Hindu and urban voters. The party has divided the urban local bodies into different zones and put either a minister or an MP as incharge of the campaign.

On the other, having lost three Assembly bypolls under Warring’s leadership, the party would be looking to reverse these electoral losses. Also being a Ludhiana MP, where civic poll is scheduled, the result would have a direct impact on his leadership.

The BJP, which enjoys support in urban segments and has considerable influence in Amritsar, Jalandhar and Phagwara cannot be ruled out.

Other than poor civic amenities in urban areas, the Opposition parties would make “deteriorating” law and order situation in the state a massive political issue.

State Election Commissioner Raj Kamal Chaudhuri said filing of nominations would begin from Monday. The candidates would get seven days for campaigning, after the last date of withdrawal of nominations on December 14.

Though paper ballots were used in the recently held panchayat elections, EVMs would be used in civic polls. These urban civic polls have been due since early 2023, when the five-year term of four MCs — Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Patiala — ended. The elections to Phagwara corporation have been due since 2020.

As the elections have been announced, a model code of conduct has been imposed in the state. The expenditure limit for candidates contesting the polls have been fixed. “For corporations, the expenditure limit has been fixed at Rs 4 lakh. For councils, it is between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 3.60 lakh. For nagar panchayats, it is Rs 1.40 lakh,” said Chaudhuri.