Haryana: 46.5% turnout in civic polls

Chandigarh: Over 46 per cent of the more than 51 lakh eligible voters for civic body polls in Haryana exercised their franchise on Sunday, officials said.

The polling was peaceful and no untoward incident was reported from anywhere, State Election Commissioner Dhanpat Singh said after the conclusion of the voting.

Polling was held to elect the mayors and ward members of seven municipal corporations -- Gurugram, Manesar, Faridabad, Hisar, Rohtak, Karnal and Yamunanagar.

Bypolls for the mayors’ posts in Ambala and Sonipat were also held. The voting was held from 8 am to 6 pm.

According to the updated figures put out by the State Election Commission at 9:30 pm, the turnout in the civic polls was recorded at 46.5 per cent.

The officials said the overall percentage may slightly increase once the entire data is collected.

Elections were also held for the posts of presidents and ward members in four municipal councils -- Ambala Sadar, Pataudi Jatoli Mandi, Thanesar and Sirsa. A bypoll was also held for the president’s post in the Sohna Municipal Council.

Voting also took place for the election of the presidents and ward members in 21 municipal committees. Bypolls for the presidents’ posts in the municipal committees of Assandh (Karnal district) and Ismailabad (Kurukshetra district) were also conducted.

Ahead of the polls, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini had exuded confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would win the contests and said work would be done three times faster after the formation of a “triple-engine” government, a reference to the saffron party being in power at the Centre, in the state as well as in the civic bodies.

The Congress had appealed to the voters to elect the party candidates with a full majority. The grand old party, out of office in Haryana for more than 10 years, is looking to turn around its electoral fortunes in the civic polls.