Himachal urban body polls record 69% turnout, voting remains peaceful across state

Voting for urban local body elections in Himachal Pradesh ended peacefully on Sunday, with nearly 69 percent of voters casting their votes across the state. Elections were held for 51 urban local bodies, including four municipal corporations in Solan, Mandi, Palampur, and Dharamshala.

According to officials, the election process remained calm and smooth, and no major problems were reported during polling. After voting ended, electronic voting machines (EVMs) were safely moved to strong rooms under tight security. Counting of votes for the four municipal corporations will take place on May 31.

Officials said the elections saw good participation from voters, especially women in many areas. A total of 1,147 candidates contested for 449 posts in urban local bodies across the state.

Peaceful polling across the state

Polling started at 7 am and continued until 3 pm. Voting happened in one phase for municipal corporations, municipal councils, and nagar panchayats.

The elections covered 64 wards in the four municipal corporations of Dharamshala, Solan, Mandi, and Palampur. Apart from this, voting also took place in 229 wards of 25 municipal councils and 156 wards of 22 nagar panchayats.

The State Election Commission said that the entire voting process remained peaceful. State Chief Election Commissioner Anil Khachi said there were no reports of malfunction or disturbance from any polling station.

Out of around 3.62 lakh registered voters in the state, more than 2.5 lakh people came out to vote. Officials said this showed strong public participation in local elections.

The overall voter turnout across all 51 urban local bodies stood at 69.16 percent.

Among different types of urban bodies, municipal councils and nagar panchayats saw better participation compared to municipal corporations. Polling in 25 municipal councils and 22 nagar panchayats reached 72.42 percent, while the turnout in municipal corporations remained lower at 63.44 percent.

Officials shared updates during the day about voting percentages. Around 16 percent voting had been recorded by 9 am. By 11 am, turnout increased to 33 percent. At 1 pm, it crossed 49 percent and later went beyond 72 percent by 3 pm in several places.

Authorities said no unpleasant incident happened during the polling process. Security arrangements were made at polling stations to ensure smooth voting.

A sad incident, however, was reported from Chamba town, where a 75-year-old man named Anjan Sharma died of a heart attack while reportedly on his way to vote.

Mandi records highest turnout among municipal corporations

Different districts recorded different levels of voter participation. Hamirpur district reported the highest turnout in the state with nearly 79 percent voting. Shimla district followed closely with more than 77 percent turnout. Una also saw around 77 percent voting.

On the other hand, Solan district recorded the lowest turnout at a little over 64 percent.

Among individual urban local bodies, Naina Devi reported the highest participation, with nearly 86 percent of voters casting their ballots.

In the four municipal corporations, Mandi recorded the highest turnout. Mandi municipal corporation saw nearly 69 percent voting, making it the best-performing corporation in terms of voter participation.

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Kangra municipal corporation registered around 64 percent turnout, while Solan municipal corporation recorded the lowest turnout among corporations at around 58 percent.

In Dharamshala municipal corporation, voting took place in 17 wards. More than 22,000 people voted out of around 36,800 registered voters, taking turnout to around 60 percent.

Interestingly, female voter participation remained slightly higher than male turnout in Dharamshala. Around 60.7 percent of women voted compared to 59.3 percent of men.

Palampur municipal corporation also saw good voter turnout. More than 21,500 voters participated out of over 31,000 registered voters, resulting in a turnout of nearly 69 percent. Women voters again recorded strong participation, with more than 71 percent turnout.

In Solan municipal corporation, voter turnout stood at around 58 percent. Female voting percentage remained slightly higher than male turnout there as well.

After polling ended, officials shifted EVMs from the four municipal corporations to strong rooms with strict security arrangements. Authorities said safety measures had been increased to prevent tampering or disturbances before counting day.

The counting of votes for the four municipal corporations will happen on May 31. Elections in municipal corporations are fought on party symbols, meaning candidates represent political parties. However, elections for municipal councils and nagar panchayats are not held on party symbols.

Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Shanta Kumar, aged 92, also cast his vote in Palampur. Speaking after voting, he said he felt happy to get a chance to vote even at this age.

He also said corruption could reduce if people vote for honest and hardworking leaders. According to him, voters have the power to choose better candidates and improve politics.

Officials believe the peaceful voting process and strong turnout show that people in Himachal Pradesh continue to take local elections seriously. The final results, especially for the municipal corporations, are now eagerly awaited.