Punjab local body polls see 48% turnout amid stray incidents of violence
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Less than 50 per cent voters exercised their franchise in the zila parishad and panchayat samiti elections held today amid an incident of booth capturing, a presiding officer running away with a ballot box and stray incidents of violence.
This is the lowest turnout in the rural body polls held in recent times. In 2018, 58.1 per cent voters had turned up to cast their ballot, while 63 per cent voters had cast their vote in the 2013 rural body polls.
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A repoll has been ordered by the State Election Commission (SEC) at 16 booths — nine in Khasa and Varpal Kalan in the panchayat samiti, Attari, for wrong symbols being allotted to candidates; two booths at Babania village and two at Madhir village (both in Muktsar, where booth capturing was reported); one booth at Raisar Patiala village in the Chananwal panchayat samiti, Barnala, where wrong ballot papers were distributed; one polling booth in the panchayat samiti, Bhogpur, Jalandhar; and one in Chahian in Gurdaspur, where the presiding officer ran away with the ballot box.
The repoll will be held on December 16 and the results of the elections will be declared on December 17.
Six persons were reportedly injured in separate incidents of clashes between workers of different political parties.
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At Kingra village in Malout, some persons snatched away some ballot papers. However, these were not put in the ballot box, so a repoll was not necessitated. An FIR, however, has been registered in this case.
In another incident in Fatehgarh Sahib, a ruling party candidate from Khera zone for the zila parishad, Amarinder Singh, managed to get pictures of the ballot paper last night, before the polling began this morning. While the SAD lodged a complaint with the SEC regarding this, a report was sought by the commission from the Deputy Commissioner concerned, who has reportedly given the candidate a clean chit after four parties’ polling agents said the polling was peaceful.
State Election Commissioner Raj Kamal Chaudhari said barring stray incidents, the polling was by and large peaceful. “Wherever the SEC received complaints of delinquencies, the deputy commissioners were asked to conduct inquiries and send reports. These inquiries initiated by the DCs cannot be closed without concurrence of the commission. Action will also be taken against the presiding officer of Chahian, Rajni Prakash, who ran away with the ballot box. It is on the basis of reports received from the DCs that we have ordered the repoll on December 16,” he said. He said the report of the DC, Fatehgarh Sahib, on the Khera incident said prima facie there was no evidence of wrongdoing.
Of the 1.36 crore voters who were to cast their votes for the rural body polls today, only 48 per cent exercised their franchise. While opposition party leaders claimed that voters were intimidated by ruling party leaders, with the “help” of the police and the civil administration, the ruling party has rubbished these allegations.
Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said the reason for the low voter turnout was the lack of faith among voters in the democratic process. Senior SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema said the low voter turnout was a sign of disillusionment with the AAP government among rural voters. “The polling was on a Sunday and at a time when farmers are free from agricultural work. They still chose not to participate,” he said.
However, AAP chief spokesperson Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal denied that the voters were intimidated and thus stayed away. “As a matter of fact, people generally do not show much enthusiasm for these polls. For the past several elections, the voter turnout has been gradually going down,” he said, adding that the elections were free and fair. (With inputs from Tribune reporters)
Ludhiana records 46.6 per cent voter turnout
December 14, 2025 8:43 pm
Over 47 per cent voter turnout in Moga
December 14, 2025 8:43 pm
Low voter turnout in Ropar
December 14, 2025 7:25 pm
According to official estimates, polling in Ropar district remained at around 50.20 per cent. The lowest turnout was in Nangal block at just 45.8 per cent, followed by Nurpur Bedi at 46 per cent, Morinda 50.95 per cent, Ropar 52.6 per cent, Chamkaur Sahib 52.9 per cent and Anandpur Sahib 53 per cent. The turnout was particularly low during the early hours, with only about eight per cent of voters casting their ballots till 10 am.
Punjab SEC orders repoll at 4 booths amid complaints of booth capturing
December 14, 2025 5:42 pm
The State Election Commission (SEC) has ordered repoll at four polling booths — Chahiyan in Gurdaspur, Babania and Madhir in Muktsar, and Chananwal in Barnala — following complaints that presiding officers allegedly absconded with ballot papers and cases of booth capturing were reported. The repoll is scheduled to be held on Tuesday. Though the final polling percentage is still being calculated, only 47 per cent of voters had cast their votes till 4:30 pm.
Over 30 per cent voter turnout recorded till 2 pm
December 14, 2025 5:09 pm
Pics of ballot papers on social media, SAD complains to EC
December 14, 2025 2:41 pm
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has submitted a complaint with the State Election Commission (SEC) citing violation of model code of conduct. SAD’s chief spokesperson Daljit Cheema claimed that an AAP candidate from Fatehgarh Sahib had posted ballot papers on social media approximately 10 hours before the commencement of polling. The photographs show the ballot papers bearing the printed serial numbers. “This incident is clearly in contrast to the free, fair and transparent election process and it calls for urgent intervention by the SEC,” he said. https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/ballot-paper-posted-on-social-media-before-polling-sad-complains-to-state-election-commission/
Poll boycott in Patiala's Samana constituency
December 14, 2025 2:33 pm
In five villages under Patiala's Samana constituency — Kotli, Bhedpuri, Dodhra, Sehajpur Kalan and Sehajpur Khurd — villagers boycotted polling, protesting their inclusion in the Patran block instead of Samana. According to villagers, not a single vote was cast in these villages till 12 noon. Locals said the decision to shift their villages from Samana to Patran was unacceptable, as Samana town is geographically closer, while Patran is nearly 30 kilometres away, making access to routine services difficult. — PTI
AAP, SAD workers clash
December 14, 2025 2:30 pm
In Tarn Taran's Kazi Kot village, workers of the Aam Aadmi Party and Shiromani Akali Dal came face to face and pelted stones at each other. In Ferozepur's Betu Kadim village, two groups threw stones at each other. PTI
BJP candidate Suman Mattu at her booth in Bambianwal village in Jalandhar
December 14, 2025 2:07 pm
Congress workers protest at a poll station at Babania village in Gidderbaha Assembly segment in Muktsar district
December 14, 2025 1:49 pm
Polling agents of Congress, SAD and BJP lodged a complaint with the Gidderbaha police, accusing AAP leader Sunny Dhillon and some others of booth-capturing. Dhillon denied the allegations, saying he was only touring villages to meet his party workers and did not even enter any polling booth. "It seems the AAP storm has hit once again. You can see the heavy rush at our party's polling booths in villages," said Sunny.
19% polling recorded till noon across Punjab
December 14, 2025 1:22 pm
20 per cent polling till noon in Fatehgarh Sahib 19 per cent voting till noon in Kapurthala 12.5 per cent voting till noon in Jalandhar 17.1 per cent voting till noon in Tarn Taran 22.71 per cent voting till noon in Fazilka 17.81 per cent voting till noon in Sangrur 22.5 per cent voting till noon in Muktsar In Mohali (Kharar, Majri and Dera Bassi), voting percentage till noon was as follows:- Kharar: 22.9 Dera Bassi: 24.4 Majri: 25.6 Overall Percentage: 24.3
Voting till noon
December 14, 2025 12:55 pm
Bathinda district records 20 per cent voter turnout till noon Mansa district records 21 per cent voter turnout till noon Barnala district records 16.78 per cent voter turnout till noon
Polling cancelled at Khasa, Khurmanian villages due to ballot paper error
December 14, 2025 12:36 pm
Amritsar: Polling for the zila parishad and panchayat samiti elections is underway across Amritsar district, with a voter turnout of 7.1 per cent recorded till 11 am. Unlike earlier elections, polling is being conducted through ballot papers instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs). However, polling has been cancelled in Khurmanian and Khasa villages of the Atari block following the detection of a printing error on ballot papers. Officials said the name of the AAP candidate was printed correctly, but the election symbol was wrongly mentioned on the ballot paper in Khasa. In view of the discrepancy, voting in these areas was immediately stopped. Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Rakesh Kumar confirmed the development.
Police seize liquor and rifle on complaint of Batala MLA
December 14, 2025 12:15 pm
Batala: The police seized a dozen bottles of liquor and a rifle from a vehicle from near Rasulpur village falling in Sekhwan police station on Saturday night. The police were acting on a complaint by Batala AAP MLA Amansher Singh Sherry Kalsi. SSP Mehtab Singh confirmed that a case had been registered at Sekhwan police station. “We are investigating the incident. We have made adequate arrangements to ensure no untoward incident takes place during elections,” he said. Sherry Kalsi alleged that the Congress was distributing liquor openly to entice voters.
Voting on at Malerkotla
December 14, 2025 12:05 pm
Men and women voters wait for their turn at a booth in Malerkotla district.
Polling booth captured in Gidderbaha, alleges Warring
December 14, 2025 11:51 am
Muktsar: PCC chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Sunday alleged that a polling booth was captured at Babania village in Gidderbaha Assembly segment in Muktsar district. “I have informed the Muktsar SSP, who said he would rush to the village,” Warring said over the phone.
Turnout at Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa and Barnala
December 14, 2025 11:44 am
Muktsar district records 10 per cent voter turnout till 10 am; Bathinda district records 8.5 per cent voter turnout till 10 am; Mansa district records 8.9 per cent voter turnout till 10 am; Barnala district records 6.69 per cent voter turnout till 10 am.
10.8% people vote in Mohali till 10 am
December 14, 2025 11:43 am
Mohali (Kharar, Majri and Dera Bassi) 10 am voter turnout: 10.8%
Men outnumber women in voting in first 2 hours in Malerkotla
December 14, 2025 11:42 am
Men outnumbered women in using their right to vote in the first two hours of polling in Malerkotla district. As many as 12,223 out of the total 1,08,463 male voters (11.28 per cent) cast vote till 10 am while 6,365 women out of 97,068 ( 6.56 per cent) voted. The overall percentage remained 9.05.
Elderly men vote in Jalandhar
December 14, 2025 11:39 am
Elderly men queue up to vote at Johlan village in Jalandhar.
Elderly woman votes in Jalandhar
December 14, 2025 11:36 am
A woman shows the inked finger after voting at Dhadda village in Jalandhar. Tribune photo: Sarabjit Singh
Voting till 10 am
December 14, 2025 11:33 am
8.1% in Patiala 7.2% in Ludhiana 7.1% in Jalandhar 7% in Kapurthala 7% in SBS Nagar 7.02% in Sangrur 10% in Fatehgarh Sahib 7.1% in Amritsar 7% in Tarn Taran
SAD workers argue with police in Ludhiana
December 14, 2025 10:55 am
Ludhiana: Workers of Shiromani Akali Dal argued with the police alleging that their workers' names are missing from the voting lists at Baddowal. Tribune photo: Himanshu Mahajan
Votes of family missing, alleges Ludhiana woman
December 14, 2025 10:52 am
An elderly woman showed a voting slip and alleged that votes of her family were missing from the voting list at Baddowal in Ludhiana district.
Abohar MLA Sandeep Jakhar votes at Panjkosi village
December 14, 2025 9:55 am
Abohar MLA Sandeep Jakhar votes at Panjkosi village
Patiala DC Preeti Yadav inspects polling booth
December 14, 2025 9:53 am
Patiala DC Preeti Yadav inspects polling booth
People queue up to vote in Amritsar
December 14, 2025 9:52 am
People queue up to vote in Amritsar.
Around 10,000 employees conducting polls in Ludhiana
December 14, 2025 9:50 am
Ludhiana District Election Officer Himanshu Jain said there are 12,45,275 electors for the polls. He said around 10,000 employees have been assigned duties for conducting the polls in a transparent manner. There will be a total of 1,639 polling booths, including 316 sensitive and 92 hyper sensitive.
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