Punjab Municipal Elections 2021: Polling date, timing, results — All you need to know

Punjab civic election 2021: Elections for 117 urban local bodies including eight municipal corporations, 109 municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Punjab will be held on Sunday (February 14). For these seats, a total of 9,222 candidates are in the fray. Of the candidates trying their luck in municipal elections, 2,832 are independents, 2,037 are from Congress, 1606 from AAP, 1,569 are from Shiromani Akali Dal and 1,003 from BJP.

Punjab Municipal Election: Municipal Corporations

Bathinda Municipal Corporation
Batala Municipal Corporation
Mohali, SAS Nagar Municipal Corporation
Hoshiarpur Municipal Corporation
Moga Municipal Corporation
Pathankot Municipal Corporation
Abohar Municipal Corporation
Kapurthala Municipal Corporation

The state election commission has appointed a total of 145 Returning Officers and 145 Assistant Returning Officers for conducting the elections.

Punjab Municipal Election: Polling date and Timing

Polling will take place on February 14, Sunday. Voting will commence from 8 am and will end at 4 pm.

Punjab Municipal Election results: Counting of votes

Counting of votes will take place on February 17, Wednesday. Results will be declared immediately after counting is over.

Key players

AAP
Akali Dal
BJP
Congress

The AAP and Congress are expected to do better than BJP and Akali Dal — both are facing people’s anger over farm legislations enacted by the Centre.

Members To Be Elected

The state election commissioner recently said that 400 members would be elected for eight municipal corporations and 1,902 members would be elected for 109 municipal councils and nagar panchayats. On the instruction of the state government, 50 per cent reservation has been given for women in urban local body elections.

Number of voters

There are 20,49,777 male and 18,65,354 female voters for the local body polls in Punjab. Besides these, there are 149 transgender voters eligible to vote in municipal elections. In total, there are 39,15,280 registered voters for the local body elections.

Will farm protests impact Punjab civic polls?

Yes. People are angry with the BJP and its former ally Akali Dal, which initially supported the ordinance but walked out of the government following protests in Punjab. The Congress is expecting to fare better as it has supported the movement since the very beginning. The AAP too is hoping to do well in what will be the first such exercise ever since protest over laws began in the state. While the protests have been ongoing in parts of the country, Punjab is considered to be the epicentre of the struggle which has now got the support from almost all political parties barring the BJP.

Farmer riding tractor – most sought-after poll symbol

The months-long protest over farm legislation seems to be playing a role in the civic body polls of Punjab. Poll officials say that ‘farmer riding a tractor’ has emerged as the most sought-after poll symbol for municipal elections. The candidates who have opted for the symbol are confident that the symbol will help them get votes from people who have been supporting the protest against the farm laws brought in by the Centre. Last month, protesting farmers had organised a tractor rally on Republic Day.