60% polls recorded in elections of Chandigarh Municipal Corporation
Held every five years, the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation elections recorded 60% polls of the 6.3 lakh eligible voters on Friday.
Sixty percent polling was recorded in the elections for the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation held here on Friday, officials said.
About 6.3 lakh voters including three lakh women were eligible to cast votes.
“Today's voting percentage was 60 percent. It was 59.5 percent in the last municipal body elections in 2016,” said an official statement.
The highest 72.81 percent polling was recorded in Ward 16 while Ward 23 witnessed 42.66 percent poll percentage which was the lowest, the statement said.
Officials said the polling passed off peacefully.
Notably, the number of wards has increased from 26 in 2016 to 35 now.
Tight security arrangements had been made to ensure smooth polling, held from 7.30 am to 5 pm, the statement said.
The results will be declared on December 27.
Traditionally, the municipal election - held every five years - sees a locking of horns between the BJP and the Congress but the entry of Aam Aadmi Party made the contest this time triangular.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds a majority in the current municipal body. In the last MC elections, BJP had won 20 seats and its erstwhile ally Shiromani Akali Dal one. The Congress had managed to win only four seats.
The BJP fought election on plank of its “achievements” in the past five years.
On the other hand, the Congress and AAP targeted the BJP for allegedly failing to undertake development work and criticized it over the city going down in the “Swachh Survekshan' (a ranking for cleanliness) rankings.
The two parties also targeted BJP for not resolving the issue of Dadumajra dumping ground and also raised issues like rise in prices of essential commodities.