Chandigarh, Nov. 5 -- This will be only the second municipal corporation election across four of Ward 1's five main constituent pockets, yet local residents remain sharply divided over how much has actually changed since the panchayats were disbanded and their villages were brought under the Chandigarh MC. Lal dora constraints, traffic congestion, and poor sanitation remain the major grievances here, even as some residents acknowledge that municipal inclusion has upgraded certain roads and brought incremental improvements like streetlights.

Four of the ward's five primary constituents-Kaimbwala, Khuda Ali Sher, Khuda Lahora, and Khuda Jassu-took part in MC elections for the first time in 2021. Their village panchayats were dissolved in 2...