January 2024 will see the conducting of polls to five municipal corporations and forty-one municipal councils, most likely prior to January 15.
High-ranking sources claim that all of the arrangements for the local bodies’ vote have been completed. The model code of conduct will go into effect on December 15.
Elections for five Municipal Corporations—Patiala, Phagwara, Amritsar, Jalandhar, and Ludhiana—should take place in the “first fortnight of November,” according to a prior announcement made by the Secretary of Local Government.
The MCs in Ludhiana ended on March 26, Amritsar and Patiala on January 22, Jalandhar on January 24, and Jalandhar on January 22. Phagwara MC’s term came to an end in March 2020.
the declaration made after the State Election Commission’s request to conduct the election by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The Election Commission committed to completing the final publication of voter registrations by November 10.
Sources claim that the ward delimitation work carried out by the local bodies was completed. They said that arrangements were in place for the panchayat election to take place in the third week of January. It is expected that block samitis and zila parishad elections would occur on the same day.
Earlier, the administration had committed to holding two rounds of panchayat elections. Exercises for delimiting panchayats were also underway.
Moreover, January is the ideal month to carry out the poll as farmers are less busy at this time. In the state, there are around 13,240 panchayats, 22, zila parishads, and 150 block samitis.
These elections will test the Aam Aadmi Party government, which won a landslide victory in March 2022.
The AAP was allegedly trying to push back the election because the opposition was beginning to doubt its capacity to manipulate the voters.
