Forty-six per cent of the more than 51 lakh eligible voters for civic body polls in Haryana exercised their franchise on Sunday. The polling was peaceful, they added.
Voting was held to elect the mayors and ward members of seven municipal corporations- Gurugram, Manesar, Faridabad, Hisar, Rohtak, Karnal and Yamunanagar. Bypolls for the mayors' posts in Ambala and Sonipat were also held. The voting was held from 8 am to 6 pm.
In addition to the municipal corporation elections, bypolls were held for mayoral posts in Ambala and Sonipat, while elections for presidents and ward members took place in four municipal councils—Ambala Sadar, Pataudi Jatoli Mandi, Thanesar, and Sirsa. A by-election was also held for the president’s post in the Sohna Municipal Council in Gurugram. Voting for president and ward members took place in 21 municipal committees, and bypolls for the president’s posts were held in Assandh (Karnal district) and Ismailabad (Kurukshetra district).
Voting began at 8 am and ended at 6 pm, with Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar among the early voters. Khattar cast his vote at a polling booth in Karnal and urged citizens to exercise their democratic rights, emphasizing the importance of voting in strengthening democracy. "I have never missed casting my vote," he said after voting.
The Haryana State Election Commission had made extensive security arrangements to ensure free, fair, and transparent proceedings. A total of 39 candidates contested for the mayoral positions in nine municipal corporations, while 27 candidates vied for presidential roles in five municipal councils. Additionally, 151 candidates ran for presidential positions in 23 municipal committees. In certain wards, where only one candidate had filed a nomination, elections were unopposed, including in Ward Nos. 36 and 22 of Faridabad and Gurugram, respectively.
The elections were conducted using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). Re-polling has been scheduled for March 4 in some areas, except for the Panipat municipal corporation, where elections will take place on March 9. The vote counting will begin at 8 am on March 12, with the results expected to be declared later that day.