Haryana State Election Commissioner Dhanpat Singh has said that extensive arrangements have been made for the free, fair and transparent elections of Urban Local Bodies scheduled for March 2.
Dhanpat Singh said that voting on March 2 will be held for the election of Mayors and all ward members in 7 Municipal Corporations, namely Gurugram, Manesar, Faridabad, Hisar, Rohtak, Karnal, and Yamunanagar. Additionally, by-elections for the post of Mayor in Ambala and Sonipat Municipal Corporations will also take place on the same day.
Similarly, elections will be conducted for the President and all ward members of 4 Municipal Councils, namely Ambala Sadar, Pataudi Jatoli Mandi, Thanesar, and Sirsa. Bye-election will also be held for the post of President in Municipal Council Sohna, district Gurugram.
Furthermore, voting will take place on March 2 for the election of Presidents and all ward members in 21 Municipal Committees. Bye-elections for the post of President in Assandh (Karnal district) and Ismailabad (Kurukshetra district) Municipal Committee will also be held on the same day.
He said that 39 candidates are contesting for the posts of Mayor in 9 Municipal Corporations. Similarly, a total of 27 candidates are in the fray for the posts of President in 5 Municipal Councils. Meanwhile, 151 candidates are contesting for the posts of President in 23 Municipal Committees.
In some wards, only one candidate has filed a nomination, leading to their unopposed election. The names of such wards include Ward No. 36 of Municipal Corporation, Faridabad, Ward No. 22 of Municipal Corporation, Gurugram, Ward Nos. 8 and 11 of Municipal Corporation, Karnal and Ward No. 9 of Municipal Corporation, Yamunanagar.
Similarly, candidates have also been elected unopposed in Ward No. 24 of Municipal Council, Ambala Sadar, Ward Nos. 7 and 32 of Municipal Council, Thanesar. Besides this, 17 ward members in various Municipal Committees have been elected unopposed. The polls will be conducted through EVMs. However, a single EVM will be used where only bye-elections are being held.
State Election Commissioner Dhanpat Singh said that to ensure peaceful and fair elections, the Excise and Taxation Department has enforced a liquor ban under Section 135C of The Representation of the People Act, 1951.
This prohibition on liquor sales will be in effect from 6 PM on February 28 until the completion of voting on Sunday, March 2. The Election Commissioner has issued strict directions for the stringent implementation of this order.
The State Election Commissioner said that all Deputy Commissioners have identified sensitive and hyper sensitive polling stations. A total of 393 sensitive and 531 hyper sensitive polling stations have been identified.
He said that to ensure peaceful elections at these polling stations, an additional police officer will be deployed at each location, and mobile police teams will conduct regular patrolling. General election observers and police election observers have been directed to closely monitor these polling stations.
He further informed that 163 sensitive and 256 hyper sensitive polling stations have been identified in Gurugram Municipal Corporation. Similarly, 68 sensitive and 72 hyper sensitive polling stations have been identified in Rohtak Municipal Corporation and 42 hyper sensitive polling stations have been identified in Hisar Municipal Corporation.
Videography arrangements will be in place at all sensitive and hyper sensitive polling stations. Additionally, videography teams will accompany all Duty Magistrates to capture footage wherever necessary.
He informed that there are more than 55 lakh voters will participate in Urban Local Bodies elections, including 27 lakh men, 24 lakh women, and 184 other voters across 5,126 polling stations.
Singh said that excluding Panipat Municipal Corporation, there are a total of 46,05,447 voters in the remaining Municipal Corporations. This includes 22,31,987 male voters, 19,64,782 female voters and 144 other voters. There are 252 wards with a total of 4,264 polling stations in these Municipal Corporations.
He informed that there are 5,69,164 voters in Municipal Councils, which includes 2,95,901 male voters, 2,73,239 female voters and 24 other voters. There are 152 wards with a total of 502 polling stations in these Municipal Councils.
Similarly, in Municipal Committees, there are 3,34,895 voters, including 1,74,647 male voters, 1,60,229 female voters and 16 other voters. There are 347 wards with a total of 360 polling stations in these Municipal Committees.