More than 44 per cent voter turnout was recorded by 1 pm in the first phase of Himachal Pradesh’s panchayat elections.
Women voters registering a higher participation rate than men in every district.
Voting in one panchayat samiti ward in Mandi was cancelled after a candidate’s name was omitted from the ballot paper, with election authorities announcing a fresh poll for the affected ward.
More than 44 per cent voter turnout was recorded by 1 pm in the first phase of Himachal Pradesh’s panchayat elections on Tuesday, with women outnumbering men at polling booths across all districts, according to election officials.
Voting began at 7 am in 1,293 panchayats amid a yellow alert for heatwave conditions in Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Solan and Sirmaur districts. Polling is scheduled to continue until 3 pm.
Data released by the State Election Commission showed that 44.12 per cent of eligible voters had cast their ballots during the first six hours of polling. Women recorded a significantly higher turnout of 48.72 per cent, compared to 39.66 per cent among men.
Solan district registered the highest turnout at 51.12 per cent, while Chamba reported the lowest participation at 37.67 per cent.
Polling was disrupted in one ward of Mandi district, where voting for a panchayat samiti seat had to be cancelled after the name of one candidate was omitted from the ballot paper.
"The polling was peaceful across the state. The polling for a panchayat samiti would be held again in one ward in Mandi district as the name of one of the six candidates was missing from the list," State Chief Election Commissioner Anil Khachi told PTI.
More than 16.5 lakh voters are eligible to participate in the first phase of polling. Over 9,000 candidates are contesting for the posts of gram panchayat members, pradhans, up-pradhans, panchayat samiti members and zila parishad members.
The elections are being conducted using colour-coded ballot papers: white for ward members, yellow for up-pradhans, green for pradhans, pink for panchayat samiti members and blue for zila parishad members.
The State Election Commission said results for gram panchayat members, pradhans and up-pradhans will be announced later on Tuesday, while the outcomes for panchayat samiti and zila parishad seats will be declared on May 31.
The three-phase rural polls will see nearly 50.89 lakh voters elect 31,182 representatives, including 3,754 pradhans, 3,754 up-pradhans, 21,654 ward members, 1,769 panchayat samiti members and 251 zila parishad members.
A total of 10,854 candidates have already secured victory unopposed. Polling for the remaining phases will be held on May 28 and May 30.
