Sirsa's Kalanwali set for first direct municipal chairperson election after 9 years

The Haryana State Election Commission has announced municipal Committeeelections for Kalanwali of Sirsa district after a gap of nine years. For the first time, the chairperson will be elected through direct voting, giving citizens the power to choose their municipal leader themselves, instead of ward members doing so.

Following the announcement, the model code of conduct has come into effect in the municipal area. District Election Officer and Deputy Commissioner Shantanu Sharma stated that the code must be strictly followed. No new schemes could be launched, no funds sanctioned and no foundation stones or inaugurations were allowed during this period. Any violation would be taken seriously, he added.

The elections for both chairperson and 16 ward councillors will be held on June 29, from 8 am to 6 pm. The vote counting will be done on June 30, unless there is a re-poll, in which case counting will take place on July 2 at Chaudhary Devi Lal University’s multipurpose hall.

Nominations will be accepted from June 10 to June 16, between 11am and 3pm. No nominations will be accepted on June 11 and June 15 as it is public holidays. Scrutiny of forms will take place on June 17, and candidates can withdraw their nominations until 3 pm on June 18, after which the election symbols will be allotted.

The chairperson nominations will be accepted at the SDM’s office in Kalanwali, while ward nominations for Wards 1 to 8 will be filed at the Tehsil office, and for wards 9 to 16 at the e-Disha Centre in the same building.

Notably, the number of wards has increased to 16, with a total of 16,161 registered voters 8,550 men and 7,611 women. The Election Commission has fixed a spending limit of Rs 12.5 lakh for the chairperson candidates and Rs 3 lakh for the ward councillor candidates.