Shimla, May 20 -- Ahead of the panchayati raj institutions (PRI) elections in the state, 10,854 candidates have been elected unopposed following the completion of the nomination withdrawal process and allotment of election symbols on May 15. The polling process for PRIs will be conducted in three phases. The first phase of voting is scheduled for May 26, followed by the second phase on May 28 and the final phase on May 30. More than 50.79 lakh voters have been registered in the panchayati raj electoral rolls. According to State Election Commission secretary Surjeet Singh Rathore, the notification for the general PRI elections was issued on April 29. Nomination papers were filed on May 7, 8 and 11, while scrutiny of nominations was carried out by returning officers and assistant returning officers on May 12 and 13. Shimla district recorded the highest number of uncontested victories in the state, with 21 panchayat samiti members, 51 pradhans, 87 up-pradhans and 1,687 ward members elected unopposed. In addition, 42 gram panchayats in the district were elected unanimously without any contest. Sirmaur district reported 22 completely unopposed gram panchayats, while Mandi recorded 17 such panchayats. Tribal district Kinnaur also witnessed a strong consensus trend, with 18 gram panchayats electing representatives unanimously. The statewide tally of unopposed winners includes 85 panchayat samiti members, 176 pradhans, 286 up-pradhans and 10,307 ward members. Altogether, 131 gram panchayats across Himachal Pradesh have been elected entirely unopposed. Hamirpur remained the only district where no pradhan was elected uncontested, although three panchayat samiti members and two up-pradhans secured victory without opposition. Kangra district recorded the highest number of ward Members elected unopposed at 1,657. A total of 131 panchayats across the state were elected unanimously. A war of words has erupted between the Congress and the BJP over the claims of both parties of outperforming each other in the 47 urban local body (ULB) elections held on May 17. Both Congress and BJP accuse each other of "exaggerating performance". Voting for the 51 urban local bodies including 4 municipal corporations -Solan, Mandi, Palampur and Dharamshala, were held on May 17. The results of 47 ULBs were declared on May 17 and ever since that both Congress and BJP are claiming to have won majority seats even though the elections were not held on party symbols. The result of 4 MCs will be announced on May 31. Revenue minister Jagat Singh Negi on Tuesday accused the BJP of exaggerating its performance, saying the actual picture would become clear only after the formation of the elected local bodies. Addressing mediapersons in Shimla, Negi claimed that the BJP was making inflated claims regarding victories in urban local body elections despite not officially declaring candidates in many areas. "The BJP is claiming victory in several municipal councils and nagar panchayats, but it has not officially fielded candidates from district council to ward level. Many candidates contested informally with BJP support and now the party is trying to take credit for their victories," he said. Negi said the election of presidents and vice-presidents of municipal bodies was yet to take place and only after the completion of the formation process would it become clear which party actually controlled the local bodies. Former chief minister and leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur alleged that chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is misleading the public with false statistics regarding victories in the local body elections in an attempt to prevent any potential damage to the Congress in the upcoming panchayat elections. He was addressing a meeting with party workers held in support of BJP-backed candidates in Seraj. "Congress leaders and the CM are exaggerating their victory statistics regarding the local body elections before the media and on social media, in an attempt to shield themselves from a complete rout by the public in the upcoming Panchayati Raj elections," he said. Congress MLA and deputy chief whip Kewal Singh Pathania said the "mandate was a clear-cut certificate in favour of chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and his governance model". Addressing a press conference in Shimla, he said, "The people of Himachal have given a clear mandate in favour of the leadership of the CM. This is a certificate of the work done by the government."...