Voter strength in Faridabad soars by 44% ahead of MC elections
The voter strength in Faridabad has grown by over 44 per cent in the past eight years, with around 4.5 lakh new voters now eligible to participate in the upcoming Municipal Corporation elections. The last such elections were held in 2017.
Although the state election authorities have yet to announce the schedule for the civic body elections, sources in the district administration confirm the voter list for the Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF) has been updated. A direct election for the post of Mayor would be held alongside the ward elections. The number of civic wards in the city has risen to 46.
The updated voter list now includes 14,70,666 voters, up from approximately 10.2 lakh in 2017. The city is expected to have around 1,302 polling booths. However, an official announcement regarding the full details of the voter list and election process is expected once the election schedule is formally declared.
A key change in this year’s electoral process is the direct election for the Mayor’s post. Previously, the Mayor was elected by members chosen from various wards. This time, however, the public would vote directly for the Mayor. Elections for positions such as Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor would still be conducted by elected members, as per the previous practice.
The reservation of civic wards for various categories, including women, Scheduled Castes (SC), Backward Classes (BC-A), Backward Classes (BC-B) and Women (SC), has already been completed. A total of 25 wards would be open for general category candidates. The Mayor’s post has been reserved for a woman (general category) this time.
The civic body elections have been delayed by around three years, primarily due to the Covid-19 pandemic and legal problems surrounding the delimitation of wards. The number of wards in the city has increased to 46 following the inclusion of 24 villages into the civic limits over the past two years.
