Punjab: Elections to civic bodies to be held on December 21

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], December 9 (ANI): The elections to municipal corporations, councils and Nagar Panchayats (urban civic bodies) in Punjab will be held on December 21, the state's poll body has announced.
Addressing a press conference on Sunday, State Election Commissioner Raj Kamal Chaudhary said the model code of conduct has come into force in the concerned areas and all the necessary arrangements have been completed to conduct fair, free and peaceful elections.
The polling will be held on December 21 from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM and the counting of votes will be done on the same day at the polling station itself, after the completion of polling of votes, he said.
State Election Commissioner Chaudhary said that the nomination filing process will start on December 9 and the last date will be December 12 while the scrutiny will be done on December 13 and the last date of withdrawal of nominations has been fixed as December 14.
He said that polling will be conducted for 381 wards of municipal corporations and 598 wards of municipal councils and nagar panchayats.
The State Election Commissioner said that instructions regarding the prohibition on carrying arms and ammunition have been issued and the district magistrates as the competent authority will assess the necessity of depositing arms.
He informed that the publishing of final voter lists for the Municipal bodies elections was concluded on December 7 and the copies of these lists are available in the offices of the concerned Registration Officers (SDMs) and other concerned offices.
He said that for the convenience of voters, nomination form 20 and sample affidavit are available for download on the commission's website sec.punjab.gov.in.
The expenditure limit for the candidates contesting the Municipal Corporation election has been fixed at Rs four lakh, followed by Rs 3.6 lakh for Municipal Council Class I, Rs 2.3 lakh for Municipal Council Class II and Rs 2 lakh for Municipal Council Class III. The expenditure limit for Nagar Panchayat election candidates has been fixed at Rs 1.4 lakh, he added. (ANI)