Shimla, May 17:
Voting for the urban local body elections across Himachal Pradesh concluded peacefully on Sunday, with the state recording more than 72 per cent polling in 51 civic bodies.
Voters turned out enthusiastically for elections to municipal corporations, municipal councils and nagar panchayats across the state. Officials said the final voting percentage may rise further as reports from a few polling stations were still awaited.
Following the completion of polling, Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used in the four municipal corporations — Mandi, Solan, Palampur and Dharamshala — were shifted to strong rooms under tight security arrangements. The results for these municipal corporations will be declared on May 31.
Meanwhile, counting of votes for 25 municipal councils and 22 nagar panchayats began soon after polling ended, and early trends are expected shortly.
Polling witnessed a steady rise throughout the day. Around 16 per cent voting was recorded till 9 am, which increased to 33 per cent by 11 am and crossed 49 per cent by 1 pm. Long queues of voters were seen outside several polling booths till the final hours of voting.
A total of 3,62,667 voters exercised their franchise to decide the fate of 439 councillor candidates. Altogether, 1,147 candidates contested the elections, while nearly 550 polling booths were set up across the state. Elaborate security and administrative arrangements were made to ensure smooth and peaceful polling.
Several inspiring scenes were witnessed during the elections. In Mandi, senior citizen voters were welcomed with tilak at a model polling booth. In Rampur of Shimla district, NCC cadets escorted a specially-abled voter to the polling station. In Sundernagar, 100-year-old Kubja Devi exercised her franchise, while in Chirgaon, centenarian Kaul Dasi also cast her vote, highlighting strong democratic participation.
However, a tragic incident was also reported from Chamba town, where 75-year-old Anjan Sharma reportedly suffered a heart attack while on his way to cast his vote and later passed away.
In Mandi district, several urban bodies recorded significant polling till 1 pm. Municipal Corporation Mandi recorded 49.90 per cent voting, Jogindernagar Municipal Council 57.66 per cent, Nerchowk 59.80 per cent, Sarkaghat 54.52 per cent and Karsog Nagar Panchayat 62.99 per cent.
With polling now complete, attention has shifted towards the results of municipal councils and nagar panchayats, while the state will await the municipal corporation results till May 31.
