Auckland (Avneet Kaur)
Punjab’s municipal elections recorded an overall voter turnout of 63.94 percent on Tuesday, even as polling across several parts of the state witnessed clashes, allegations of booth capturing and claims of voter intimidation.
Voting was held for eight municipal corporations, 75 municipal councils and 20 nagar panchayats, making it one of Punjab’s biggest local body electoral exercises ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. Polling began at 8am under heavy security deployment, with long queues seen outside booths in several urban and semi-urban areas throughout the day.
While the State Election Commission stated that polling remained “largely peaceful”, reports of tension and confrontations surfaced from multiple districts including Ludhiana, Patiala, Barnala, Muktsar, Tarn Taran and Bathinda. Rival political workers from AAP, Congress, BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal were involved in heated arguments and clashes near polling booths in some areas.
In Samana, police reportedly had to intervene after tensions escalated into stone-pelting and chaos outside polling centres. Similar allegations of bogus voting, booth capturing attempts and voter intimidation were also raised from areas including Raikot, Gidderbaha and Majitha.
Opposition leaders accused ruling party workers of influencing voters and creating pressure at polling stations, while rival parties traded allegations of misuse of administration and unfair electoral practices during voting hours.
The civic polls are politically significant as they are being viewed as the first major electoral battle before Punjab heads towards the 2027 Vidhan Sabha elections. All major parties have treated the urban local body polls as a key test of public mood and organisational strength on the ground.
Even before polling day, controversy had surrounded the elections following disputes over nomination paper rejections and allegations from opposition parties regarding scrutiny procedures.
Thousands of police personnel and election staff were deployed across Punjab, especially at sensitive and hyper-sensitive booths identified by authorities.
Counting of votes for all municipal corporations, municipal councils and nagar panchayats is scheduled to take place on May 29.
