Chamba : Voting for the first phase of Panchayati Raj elections in Himachal Pradesh's Chamba commenced on Tuesday, with the district administration making elaborate arrangements to ensure peaceful and fair polling. According to officials, polling will be conducted for 676 wards across 118 panchayats in the district during the first phase.
The Panchayati Raj elections in Chamba district are being conducted in three phases, with polling for other two phases scheduled on May 28 and May 30. To ensure the smooth conduct of the elections, the administration has deployed 3,813 employees across 319 panchayats in the district. A total of 4,07,853 voters are eligible to cast their votes in the elections. The electorate comprises 2,01,283 female voters and 2,06,570 male voters.
Meanwhile, on May 17, Voting for 51 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in Himachal Pradesh, including the four Municipal Corporations of Solan, Mandi, Palampur and Dharamshala, remained peaceful with an overall polling percentage of 69.16 per cent recorded across the state, officials said.
The overall polling percentage this year remained lower than the 72 per cent turnout recorded during the last general ULB elections held in 2021. While 72.42 per cent of the electorate exercised their franchise in 25 Municipal Councils and 22 Nagar Panchayats, the four Municipal Corporations recorded a comparatively lower polling percentage of 63.44 per cent.
Polling through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) was conducted from 7 AM to 3 PM amid tight security arrangements and passed off without any untoward incident. State Chief Election Commissioner Anil Khachi said the polling process remained peaceful throughout the state.
"Polling remained completely peaceful with no reports of any kind of malfunction received from any part," Khachi said. According to the State Election Commission, out of a total of 3,62,025 registered voters, as many as 2,50,391 voters exercised their franchise during the polling process.
Hamirpur district emerged as the top performer in voter participation with a turnout of 78.89 per cent. Shimla followed closely with 77.36 per cent polling, while Una registered 77 per cent turnout. Solan district recorded the lowest voter participation at 64.20 per cent.