Polling for approximately 1.05 lakh candidates contesting for the posts of panch and sarpanch in Punjab began on Tuesday with voting happening through ballot boxes, officials said.
The voting will continue till 4 p.m. after which the ballots will be counted at the respective polling stations. The election is underway amid tight security arrangements despite calls for postponement by the Congress over alleged irregularities in nominations.
There will be more than 19,000 polling booths, covering over 13,000 gram panchayats.
A total of 3,798 candidates have been unanimously elected for the position of sarpanch, while 48,861 candidates have been selected for the panch. Elections in 28 gram panchayats have been cancelled, and one has been halted. As a result, voting will now take place for 9,398 gram panchayats.