59% voter turnout in Shimla civic polls

Shimla: Intermittent rains failed to dampen the voters' spirit as about 59 per cent polling was recorded in the 34-ward Shimla Municipal Corporation elections on Tuesday, officials said.

Workers of both the Congress and BJP started mobilizing their voters early in the morning to reach the booths but rain played a spoilsport and polling picked up as the day progressed and the weather improved, they said.

The polling was 58.97 per cent -- male 59.29 per cent and female 58.60 per cent -- and voters cast their votes till 4 pm. There was a marginal increase in polling in comparison to the last election in 2017 when 57.80 per cent of votes were cast.

The polling was peaceful and no untoward incident was reported from any part of the city, Deputy Commissioner Shimla Aditya Negi who is also the Returning officer told The PTI.

Polling in 34 wards began at 8 am and 29 per cent of voters cast their votes by 12 noon, 43.6 per cent by 2 pm and 58.66 per cent by 4 pm.

The fate of 102 contestants has been sealed and the results of the elections, which are being held on party symbols, will be declared on Thursday. The civic body's five-year term ended in June 2022 but the elections were delayed by 11 months.

Voting is our democratic right and everyone should exercise their franchise by voting in the elections, said Savitri Devi (82), the Chief Minister’s school teacher who cast her vote at Chotta Shimla polling booth.

“Shimla should have more book cafes and avenues for sports and extracurricular activities to channelise the energy of adolescents and youths, this will also help in curbing drug menace,” said first-time voter Tanisha.

Leaders including former Union Minister Anand Sharma (Congress) and Former Urban development minister Suresh Bhardwaj (BJP) also cast votes in their respective polling booths.

The state's ruling Congress and the BJP are the main rivals in these elections.

The BJP accused the Congress of influencing the election process and lodged a complaint with the State Election Commission against changing the sequence of names in electronic voting machines in two wards. The Congress dismissed the charge as "ridiculous".

Alleging irregularities in the election process, the BJP state president Rajiv Bindal said that the sequence of names of BJP candidates in EVMs has been changed in two wards -- Chotta Shimla (ward number 28) and Kangnadhar (ward number 30) -- creating confusion among voters.

At the time of allotment of tickets, the names of BJP candidates Sanjiv Chauhan (Chotta Shimla) and Renu Chauhan (Kangnadhar) appeared in serial nos. 1 and 3 respectively but the names were displayed on serial nos. 2 and 4 respectively on the polling day, he alleged.

Talking to reporters after casting his vote at Chotta Shimla from where he had been a councillor for two terms, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu termed the BJP's allegation ridiculous.

He said party symbols are displayed on EVMs and the people of Shimla are educated and know where to cast their votes.

According to State Election Commission data, 93,920 voters are registered to exercise their franchise in the elections. These include 49,759 male and 44,161 female voters.

Vikas Nagar ward has the maximum number of voters at 4,161, while Malyana has the lowest at 1,166.

The Congress is upbeat about its chances after victory in the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections in December and is banking on its performance over the past five months to get over the line.

Sukhu, who led the Congress campaign, has been a two-time councillor in the civic body from the Chotta Shimla ward.

The Congress has promised to introduce policies for the regularisation of multi-storey buildings and a uniform tax regime for both old and merged areas.

The BJP, on the other hand, is banking on the performance of the outgoing Shimla Municipal Corporation board, which it governed from 2017 to 2022. It is touting the initiatives taken by the corporation under the Smart City project and has promised, among others, 40,000 litres of free water to every household a month and a 'One Nigam, One Tax' policy.

According to the voters, the major election issues are 24x7 water supply, new parking facilities, widening of roads and controlling the drug menace. All the major parties have promised to make Shimla green and drug-free and solve the traffic congestion issue by constructing parking lots.

Of the 34 wards in the civic body's jurisdiction, 50 per cent are reserved for women. Six wards are reserved for Scheduled Castes, including three for women. The remaining 14 wards are unreserved.

The BJP and the Congress have fielded women candidates from 23 and 18 wards, respectively.

While both the BJP and Congress have fielded candidates from all 34 wards, AAP and CPI(M) candidates are contesting from 21 and four seats, respectively.

The Shimla Municipal Corporation constitutes areas of three assembly segments -- Shimla (Urban), Shimla (Rural) and Kusumpti. All three segments are currently represented by Congress MLAs, two of whom are ministers in Sukhu's cabinet.

In the 2017 elections, the BJP wrested the civic body from the Congress for the first time in 32 years, winning 17 wards. The Congress won 12 wards, the CPI(M) from one and Independents from four.