Shimla, May 31 -- Polling for the third and final phase of panchayati raj institutions in Himachal Pradesh registered a 80.59% voter turnout on Saturday despite widespread rainfall in the state. Long queues of voters of all age groups were seen early at polling stations across the state. Veteran voters participated with enthusiasm, including chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's 88-year-old mother, Sansar Dei, who cast her vote, and 105-year-old Basanti Devi, who exercised her franchise in Ward Kas of Kas panchayat in Jogindernagar assembly constituency. In a striking display of democratic spirit, villagers in the Naghiyar panchayat of Jhandutta, Bilaspur, carried a person unable to walk to the polling booth in a makeshift palanquin. Among the districts, Sirmaur recorded the highest turnover with 85.18%, Kullu recorded the highest turnout at 84.66%, and Lahaul Spiti reported the lowest at 71.05%. Six districts recorded more than 80 % voter turnout- Sirmaur (85.18%), Solan (83.85%), Shimla (82.74%), Mandi 81.63% , Kullu (84.66%) and Chamba (80.68%) No untoward incident was reported, police said. A total of 15,40,324 voters-comprising 7,76,802 men, 7,63,517 women, and five third-gender voters-are eligible to exercise their franchise across 1,189 panchayats in the final leg. To streamline the voting process, the administration has deployed colour-coded ballot papers: White for ward members, yellow for up-pradhans, green for pradhans, pink for panchayat samiti members, and blue for zila parishad members. This concludes a massive democratic exercise across the hill state to elect 31,182 public representatives, including 3,754 pradhans, 3,754 up-pradhans, 21,654 ward members, 1,769 panchayat samiti members, and 251 zila parishad members. Out of the total pool of candidates, 10,854 office-bearers have already been elected unopposed. The three-phase election covers nearly 50.89 lakh eligible voters. The first phase saw a 78.9% turnout across 1,293 panchayats, while the second phase on May 28 recorded an 80% turnout across 1,276 panchayats. Voting is scheduled to conclude at 3pm today, after which the counting of votes for the panchayats will begin immediately, with results expected later this evening. Meanwhile, the counting for the zila parishad, panchayat samitis, and the four municipal corporations of Solan, Mandi, Palampur, and Dharamshala will take place on Sunday. The municipal corporation votes will be counted at their respective headquarters, while the zila parishad and panchayat samiti tallies will be conducted at their respective block headquarters. Keeping with the trend witnessed in the first two phases, even in the third phase women voters were 83.55% voting outdid the men voters whose voting percentage was 77.69% in 11 districts except Shimla (men 83.35% women 82.56%) where the voting percentage of men was more than women. Immense enthusiasm regarding voting is being witnessed among the people of Himachal Pradesh. In Naghiyar Panchayat of Jhandutta (Bilaspur), villagers carried a person unable to walk to the polling station in a 'palanquin.' Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's 88-year-old mother, Sansar Dei, casts her vote. In Ward Kas of Kas Panchayat within the Jogindernagar Assembly constituency, 105-year-old Basanti Devi cast her vote. 105-year-old Draupadi Devi, a resident of Gunsawai village, cast her vote at the Atal Adarsh Vidyalaya in Dabrot Gram Panchayat (Dharampur Development Block). During the panchayat elections, a special health check-up camp was organised for the convenience of voters at the Government Senior Secondary School, Randhara-a designated Model Polling Station within the Mandi Sadar Development Block. Under this initiative, various health-related services were made available to individuals arriving to cast their votes. Rupinder Kaur, assistant election officer and SDM (Sadar), stated that a total of 162 individuals underwent screening for Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) at the health camp organized at the Model Polling Station. Additionally, X-rays were conducted for 202 people, of which 12 cases revealed abnormal results. She added that the objective behind providing healthcare services at the polling station was to raise public awareness regarding health alongside the act of voting. The voting process was briefly disrupted in Manglaur Panchayat, located within the Banjar Development Block of Kullu district due to the incorrect placement of a candidate's name alongside the election symbol for a BDC (Block Development Council) member seat. On the ballot papers, the names of the BDC candidates had been erroneously listed next to each other's respective election symbols. Upon noticing this discrepancy, the voting process was halted. Following checking, the two specific ballot papers on which the candidates' names had been interchanged were cancelled. Subsequently, the voting process was resumed. During the polling, a unique blend of dev culture and democracy was witnessed at the Kandha polling station in Ward Number 1 of the Talada Gram Panchayat in Kullu district. At the polling station, the polling party conducted the voting while seated on the floor. The decision to conduct the voting from the floor of the room was taken by the polling party out of respect for the deity, Garg Rishi. In certain parts of Kandha village, according to local religious customs, sitting on a chair or sleeping on a bed is prohibited. The polling booth was set up without any chairs or tables. State Congress president Vinay Kumar expressed confidence that the election results for the state's four Municipal Corporations - scheduled to be declared on May 31-would turn out in the Congress party's favour. Citing the recent election results for various municipal bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions, he asserted his belief that the results for the Municipal Corporations of Mandi, Dharamshala, Palampur, and Solan would also go in the Congress' favour. Kumar stated that the Congress party is making strong strides across the state. He alleged that the party holds absolutely no concern for the welfare of the state. Principal advisor (media) to the CM, Naresh Chauhan alleged that the BJP is making exaggerated and misleading claims about its performance in the local body and panchayat elections, while feedback received by the Congress from across the state indicates that a large number of Congress-supported candidates have emerged victorious. He alleged that the BJP is attempting to create a perception of victory through the media, which is far away from the ground reality. He said that the Congress-backed candidates would also emerge victorious in the Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad elections. BJP state president Rajeev Bindal on the last day of the voting for panchayat elections launched a scathing attack on the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government in Himachal Pradesh while accusing the government of "attempting to hijack" the Urban Local Body and Panchayati Raj elections in Himachal Pradesh. He alleged, "Fearing defeat the Congress government is now allegedly resorting to the misuse of administrative machinery, political influence, and money power in an attempt to gain control over Municipal Councils, Block Development Committees (BDCs), and Zila Parishads through the backdoor". Bindal alleged that through a notification issued on May 27, 2026, the government amended the Municipal Election Rules and granted deputy commissioners discretionary authority to determine the timing of meetings for the election of chairpersons and vice-chairpersons. "Earlier, such elections were conducted within a fixed timeframe and under a well-defined procedure. This new arrangement provides opportunities for political pressure and influence over elected representatives," he alleged. Former BJP national president and Union minister Jagat Prakash Nadda, after casting his vote in the Panchayati Raj elections, said, "Panchayati Raj institutions form the foundation of India's democratic structure and play a crucial role in rural development and local governance. Therefore, active participation in these elections is essential for ensuring effective and representative leadership at the grassroots level". Former chief minister and leader of the Opposition, Jai Ram Thakur launched a scathing attack on the Congress government saying, "By delivering unprecedented victories to candidates aligned with the BJP ideology-securing approximately 75 percent of the seats-they have sent a clear message that the people of Himachal are thoroughly fed up with the current Congress government's policies, hollow guarantees, and administrative approach that stifles development". The highest voter turnout percentage among women was recorded in district Sirmaur, standing at approximately 86%. Within Sirmaur, the highest overall voter turnout-approximately 95%-was recorded in Bhatgarh Gram Panchayat, located in the Dadahu Development Block. Across all three phases of the elections involving 3,758 Gram Panchayats, the total voter turnout recorded in the state stood at 81%. In comparison, during the three phases of the General Elections for Panchayati Raj Institutions held in 2021-covering 3,473 gram panchayats - approximately 78% of the electorate in the state had exercised their franchise. Re-polling was conducted in Ward No. 1 (Brandli-1) of Gram Panchayat Naren, located in the Rampur Development Block, as a 'NOTA' stamp was used alongside the standard 'Swastika' stamp during the polling held on May 26, 2026. Upon the conclusion of the polling process, the voter turnout in the said ward stood at approximately 88%. The election in Ward No. 2 of Gram Panchayat Samwal, situated in Tissa Development Block of Chamba, had previously been postponed. Polling in this ward was successfully conducted today, May 30, recording a voter turnout of approximately 91%....