54.93% voter turnout recorded in Mohali panchayat samiti polls

The panchayat samiti elections in district, which included Kharar, Majri and Dera Bassi blocks concluded this evening with an overall voter turnout of 54.93 per cent.

Kharar recorded 49.95 per cent, Dera Bassi 56.31 per cent and Majri 56.86 percent voter turnout, said Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer Komal Mittal.

A total of 306 polling booths were set up across the three panchayat samitis, with polling commencing at 8 am and continuing till 4 pm. As many as 121 polling booths were in Dera Bassi, 110 in Majri, and 75 in Kharar.

An electorate of more than 2.12 lakh was eligible for polling. People were slow to the booths in the morning as only 10.8 per cent was reported in first two hours. Till 2 pm, turnout had touched 35-40 per cent mark with Kharar recording 35.8 per cent, Dera Bassi 36.7 per cent and Majri 40.2 per cent.

The polling process remained smooth throughout the day and no law and order issue was reported till the close of voting, officials said.

All polling parties have returned safely and ballot boxes have been deposited at the designated Collection Centres/Strong Rooms at Dera Bassi and Government Polytechnic College, Khoonimajra (for Kharar and Majri blocks).

The district administration and police officials remained on close vigil to avert any untoward incident. She also congratulated all officers and staff deployed on election duty for ensuring a free, fair and impartial election process.

Counting of votes will be held on December 17 at Government College, Dera Bassi, and Government Polytechnic College, Khoonimajra. Till then, the ballot boxes will remain under tight security arrangements.

A BJP candidate, Major Khan, of Kandholi village in Majri (Zone 11) remained absent through the polling today. Locals said Khan was upset with senior leadership for not turning up to support him during the campaigning. However, the BJP candidate was seen standing in the SAD booth today.

Kharar BJP leader Ranjit Singh Gill said, “We came yo know of the development last night. He is untraceable. If he does not surface, we will have to file a missing persons report with the police.”