Shimla, April 29 -- The state election commission on Tuesday announced that panchayat polls in Himachal Pradesh will be conducted in three phases on May 26, 28 and 30, with counting of votes on May 31. The announcement of the poll schedule follows a recent reprimand from the Supreme Court, which issued an ultimatum to the state government to conclude the local body elections before the end of May. The Panchayati Raj elections in Himachal were to be held in December 2025 -January 2026, however, the state citing extensive damage to public and private property during the monsoon pegged at over Rs 10,000 crore and logistical hurdles such as blocked rural roads had postponed the elections. Due to which the Himachal government in January this year appointed administrators after the expiry of the five-year tenure of all panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) in the state to run gram panchayats, panchayat samitis and zila parishads. Challenging the move, a petition was filed in Himachal Pradesh high court, which was disposed of on January 9, 2026, directing the state to conduct elections to PRIs and urban local bodies (ULBs) by April 30, dismissing the government's attempt to defer polls by six months under the Disaster Management Act. The state government had moved the Supreme Court against the high court order. While upholding the high court's ruling on the constitutional necessity of timely elections, the apex court granted limited additional time in view of logistical difficulties cited by the state. Addressing a press conference in Shimla, state election commissioner Anil Kumar Khachi said the elections will cover 31,182 posts, including those of pradhan, up-pradhan, gram panchayat members, panchayat samitis and zila parishads, in all 12 districts of the state. However, the election programme will not apply to four gram panchayats in Kullu district as their tenure is valid until February 9, 2027, though elections for panchayat samiti and zila parishad members will still be conducted there. Khachi said the notification for the elections will be issued on Wednesday, after which the process of filing nomination papers will take place between 11am and 3pm from May 7-9. Scrutiny of papers will occur on May 12, while candidates will be allowed to withdraw their nominations on May 14 and 15. The final list of candidates will be prepared and election symbols will be allotted on May 15 itself. Polling will be held from 7am to 3pm in the three phases. Counting of votes for gram panchayat-level posts will be conducted after the conclusion of polling at the respective panchayat headquarters, while counting for panchayat samiti and zila parishad seats will take place at the block headquarters from 9am on May 31. Khachi said more than 50.79 lakh voters are registered in the panchayati raj electoral rolls, including 25.62 lakh male voters and 25.11 lakh female voters. He said over 52,000 voters in the 18-year-old age group will cast their vote for the first time. More than 21,000 polling stations will be set up across the state. One polling station in Lahaul-Spiti district will be set up at an altitude of 4,587 metres, the highest in the state. He said that since elections for multiple panchayat posts are conducted simultaneously, each voter will receive separate, colour-coded ballot papers for different posts for ease of identification. White ballot papers will be used for panch posts, yellow for up-pradhan, light green for pradhan, pink for panchayat samiti members and light blue for zila parishad members. Regarding updated electoral rolls, he said the commission initially set October 1, 2025, as the qualifying date and subsequently conducted a special revision of voter lists using April 1, 2026, as the reference date to ensure maximum inclusion of eligible voters. He said voters can check their names and details in the rolls through the 'Voter Saathi' mobile application or the official website of the commission. With the announcement of the poll schedule, the model code of conduct has come into force with immediate effect. The State Election Commission, Himachal Pradesh, on Tuesday announced the immediate enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct across the state following the declaration of the seventh general elections to Panchayati Raj Institutions. In view of ensuring free, fair, and smooth conduct of the electoral process, the commission has invoked its powers under Article 243K of the Constitution and Section 160 of the Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act, 1994. In a bid to ensure peaceful and orderly conduct of the upcoming local body elections, the district magistrate, Shimla, Anupam Kashyap, has ordered the mandatory deposit of all licenced firearms across the district, citing apprehensions of breach of peace and possible misuse of weapons during the election period. The order, issued on Tuesday comes in the wake of the announcement of election schedules for municipal councils, nagar panchayats and gram panchayats by the State Election Commission....