Punjab is set to witness polling for municipal elections on Tuesday, with voting to be held for eight Municipal Corporations, 75 Municipal Councils and 21 Nagar Panchayats across the state. The counting of votes will take place on May 29.
The elections are being seen as politically significant for all major parties ahead of the 2027 Assembly polls, with urban voter sentiment expected to serve as a key indicator for the future political landscape in the state.
Polling will be conducted through ballot papers, and the State Election Commission has put elaborate security and administrative arrangements in place. A total of 3,977 polling booths have been established, while around 36,000 employees have been deployed for election duty. In addition, nearly 35,500 police personnel and Home Guard jawans have been stationed to ensure peaceful polling. Five officials will be deployed at each booth, and IAS and PCS officers have also been assigned district-level responsibilities.
According to the State Election Commission, 36,72,932 voters are eligible to cast their votes in the civic elections. These include over 18 lakh male voters, more than 17 lakh female voters, and 226 voters categorised under others.
The elections to the Municipal Corporations of Bathinda, Abohar, Batala, Barnala, Kapurthala, Moga, Pathankot and Mohali have become a prestige battle for political parties. Notably, elections are being conducted for the Barnala Municipal Corporation for the first time.
A total of 10,809 candidates had initially filed nominations after the elections were announced on May 11. However, 2,393 candidates later withdrew their papers, while 79 contestants were elected unopposed. The final tally now stands at 7,555 candidates contesting the polls.
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party has fielded the highest number of candidates at 1,801, followed by Congress with 1,550 candidates, Bharatiya Janata Party with 1,316 and Shiromani Akali Dal with 1,251 candidates. Bahujan Samaj Party has fielded 96 candidates, while 1,528 independents and 13 others are also in the fray.
Political campaigning concluded on Sunday with candidates and senior party leaders holding extensive roadshows and public meetings. Due to the tight election schedule, candidates reportedly got only five to six days for campaigning after the withdrawal of nominations on May 19.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the installation of CCTV cameras inside and outside all polling booths to ensure transparency and fairness in the electoral process. The court also ordered that the footage be preserved for at least one year and should not be destroyed without permission. The directions were issued by a division bench of Justice Harsimran Singh Sethi and Justice Deepak Manchanda while hearing petitions related to the civic polls.
The Punjab government has declared a public holiday on May 26 to facilitate smooth polling. All Punjab government offices, boards, corporations, educational institutions and other government establishments, including those in Chandigarh, will remain closed. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has also announced special casual leave for its officers and employees on polling day.
The civic elections are also being viewed as a performance test for ruling AAP MLAs and ministers, who actively campaigned in their respective areas. Political observers believe the results will also indicate the BJP’s growing influence in Punjab, as the party has adopted an aggressive strategy in the urban local body polls.
Meanwhile, Shiromani Akali Dal has urged the State Election Commission to extend polling hours from the current 8 am to 5 pm schedule to 7 am to 6 pm, citing the ongoing heatwave conditions. Senior Akali leader Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said longer polling hours would help improve voter turnout and allow labourers and working-class voters more time to exercise their franchise.