The fate of candidates contesting for the post of mayor and members from 20 wards of the Ambala Municipal Corporation election will be sealed on Sunday.
The district administration has set up 191 booths across the 20 wards for polling, with over 1.98 lakh voters eligible to exercise their franchise in the corporation election.
As many as 65 candidates are in the fray for membership from the 20 wards. In addition, three candidates — BJP’s Akshita Saini, Congress’s Kulwinder Kaur and independent candidate Sonia Rani — are contesting for the post of mayor. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) have extended their support to Sonia Rani in the mayoral election.
With the BJP and Congress locked in a prestige battle in Ambala, both parties have left no stone unturned to woo voters. The AAP has fielded seven candidates from various wards, while several independents are also testing their fortunes.
Meanwhile, polling parties were issued election-related materials on Saturday before departing for their designated booths.
DC Ambala Ajay Singh Tomer said all preparations for a smooth election had been completed. “All arrangements have been made to ensure a peaceful and fair election. The polling parties have been dispatched. Ample security arrangements have been made, and directions issued to officials to discharge their duties with dedication,” he stated.
“All arrangements have been made to ensure a peaceful and fair election. The polling parties have been dispatched. Ample security arrangements have been made, and directions have been issued to the officials to discharge their duties with dedication,” the DC said.
Ambala SP Ajit Singh Shekhawat also issued instructions to the police personnel engaged in security arrangements.
Nearly 1,000 police personnel have been deployed for the election duty. Besides these, to handle any emergency situation and maintain law and order, four companies of reserve forces have been kept on alert. Additional police forces have been deployed at the critical booths to ensure that the voting process proceeds without any disruption. To bolster security, special checkpoints have been established in the border areas of the district.
The SP said, “Ample force has been deployed for the 191 polling booths. A total of 35 booths are identified as critical, where some disputes were reported in the past. All the DSPs and the SHOs will be on regular patrolling in their respective areas. We are hopeful that the election will be concluded peacefully. Patrolling parties have been deployed to conduct continuous surveillance.”
