Shimla, May 17 -- A turnout of 69.16 per cent was recorded in the election to 51 urban local bodies in Himachal Pradesh on Sunday, officials said.
The polling was peaceful throughout the state, State Chief Election Commissioner Anil Khachi said. He said 72.42 per cent polling was recorded in municipal councils and Nagar Panchayats, and 63.44 per cent in municipal corporations, adding that the percentage could increase slightly.
Voting for 51 urban local bodies commenced at 7 am and concluded at 3 pm. It was held simultaneously in 64 wards in the four municipal corporations of Dharamshala, Solan, Mandi and Palampur, 229 wards in 25 municipal councils and 156 wards in 22 Nagar Panchayats in a single phase, with as many as 1,147 candidates in the fray for the 449 posts.
A 70-year-old man, Anjan Sharma, died near a polling booth while he was on his way to cast his vote in municipal council elections in Chamba. Preliminary reports suggest that he suffered a heart attack.
The voting percentage was 63.72 in the municipal corporations of Dharamshala and Palampur in Kangra district, 68.78 per cent in Mandi and 58.32 per cent in Solan. Women voters surpassed men in Kangra and Mandi while male voters exceeded in Solan district Municipal Corporation polls.
The highest polling percentage in municipal councils and Nagar Panchayats was 78.89 in Hamirpur, followed by 77.36 in Shimla, 77 in Una, 76.94 in Solan, 74.51 in Kangra, 73.35 in Mandi, 72.06 in Bilaspur, 68.22 in Chamba, 67.80 in Kullu and 67.24 in Sirmaur district.
The counting of votes for municipal councils and Nagar Panchayats has started.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.