Shimla, May 2 (IANS) Braving rainfall, nearly 60 per cent of the 93,920 electorates cast their votes on Tuesday for the Shimla Municipal Corporation, one of India’s oldest civic bodies, for its 34 wards with 102 candidates in the fray for the contest that is mainly between the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP.
The ballots will be counted on Thursday.
Electors could be seen reaching polling stations even before voting started at 8 a.m.
An election official told IANS there has been no report of any delay in starting the poll process.
Two-time councillor from Shimla and Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu cast his vote along with two daughters and wife.
Senior BJP leader and former chief minister Jai Ram Thakur alleged irregularities in the election process and said he had raised the issue with the state Election Commission.
However, Chief Minister Sukhu termed the BJP’s allegation ridiculous.
Over 43 per cent polling was recorded till 2 p.m. A total of 93,920 voters, comprising 44,161 women, were entitled to exercise their franchise. Half of the wards have been reserved for women.
The BJP has fielded women candidates from 23 wards, while the Congress from 18. Both parties were contesting from all 34 wards.
The AAP and CPI-M have fielded candidates from 21 and four seats, respectively.
While the Congress has promised to introduce policies for a uniform tax regime for both old and merged areas, the BJP promised to provide 40,000 litres of free water to every household a month, besides a 50 per cent garbage bill waiver.
The five-year term of the Municipal Corporation ended in June 2022 but the election could not be held due to a court case which challenged delimitation of wards.
The previous BJP government had increased the number of wards from 34 to 41.
After coming to power, the Congress government in January abolished the seven new wards.
In the 2017 elections, the BJP wrested the civic body from the Congress for the first time in 32 years, winning 17 wards. The Congress won 12 wards, the CPI-M one and Independents four.
–IANS
vg/pgh
