The fate of six mayoral candidates and 87 ward councillor nominees of the Panchkula Municipal Corporation has been sealed with a 53.4 per cent voter turnout recorded in 20 wards of the civic body till 6 pm today.
As many as 1,10, 702 of the total 2,07,444 votes were cast at 204 polling booths set up by the state Election Commission within the Panchkula municipal limits. The counting of votes will begin at 8 am on May 13.
Polling remained peaceful with no major incident of EVM malfunction, poll-related violence or queue management coming to the fore.
The rural area electorate kept the tempo high throughout the day this time too, while the urban voters gave a tepid response yet again.
Voters had started queuing up at the centres since 7.30 am with the turnout surging as the day moved on — 10.7% at 11 am, 34.1% at 2:30 pm, 42% at 4 pm and 52% at 6 pm.
Voters, especially senior citizens, started reaching the polling centres early to exercise their franchise.
Former Chief of Army Staff Gen VP Malik, a resident of Sector 6, along with his wife, was among the first ones to cast vote. Asked for a comment on his priorities, he said: “I prefer a candidate who has the will to work for the people of the area. Secondly, he or she should be accessible to the residents. Cleanliness is a major issue for the city. Development is also a priority issue here.”
At Ward No. 2, Santosh Chaudhary, a senior citizen, said, “The MC polls are equally important as the Assembly or the Lok Sabha elections, as we get to elect candidates with whom we come in contact on a daily basis to get better civic amenities. Cleanliness, pothole-free roads and garbage disposal are key issues for me on which I will cast my vote.”
A majority of the residents standing in queues agreed that the main competition was between main national parties but independents were also expected to give a stiff competition in some pockets.
The BJP mayoral candidate, Shyam Lal Bansal, and his family members reached Satluj Public School in Sector 2 early to cast their vote. Congress mayoral candidate Sudha Bhardwaj and her husband cast their vote at Government Senior Secondary School in Sector 6 around 8.30 am.
Both Bansal and Sudha Bhardwaj were locked in a head-to-head battle for the post of Mayor. Manoj Aggarwal (INLD), Rajesh Kumar (AAP) and two Independents Chandan Singh and Karnail Singh are also in the fray.
Separate EVMs were installed at the polling stations, one each for mayoral candidates and ward councillor nominees. Meanwhile, 54.7% overall voter turnout was recorded in urban local body elections held for the Municipal Corporations of Ambala, Panchkula and Sonepat; the Municipal Councils of Rewari and the Municipal Committees of Dharuhera, Sampla, and Uklana.
High turnout in rural areas
Booth No. 199, Government Girls Primary School, Toka, of Ward No. 20 witnessed 90% polling, Government Primary School, Alipur, Ward No. 20, 85.56%; and Government Senior Secondary School, Billa, of Ward No. 20 logged 88.91% turnout. Kundi, Ramgarh, Darra Khurani, Chaunki, Sukhdarshanpur, Chandi Kotla, Budhanpur, Khatoli, Khangesra, Sector 16 and Sector 17 also logged high turnout.
Low polling in urban areas
Little Flower Convent School, Sector 14, of Ward No. 14 recorded 17.56% polling, followed by Booth No. 98 at Little Flower Convent School, Sector 14, 21.13% and Booth No. 97 26.72%. Sectors 20, 7, 9 and 11 logged 20-30% turnout.
