Punjab civic polls: 13.5% voter turnout recorded till 10 am

Voter turnout of 13.5% was recorded till 10:00 AM on Tuesday, May 26, 2026 in the elections to 103 municipal bodies, including eight municipal corporations, in Punjab, officials said.

Voting through ballots started at 8 am and will continue until 5 pm. The counting of votes will take place on May 29.

Elections are being held in 1,896 wards in eight municipal corporations — Mohali, Bathinda, Abohar, Barnala, Kapurthala, Moga, Batala and Pathankot — besides 75 municipal councils and 20 Nagar Panchayats, officials said.

There are a total of 7,555 candidates in the fray. The ruling AAP has fielded the highest number of candidates at 1,801, followed by 1,550 from the Congress, 1,316 from the BJP, 1,251 from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and 96 from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

In addition, there are 1,528 independent candidates in the polls.

As many as 1,613 candidates are contesting in 396 constituencies of eight city corporations. In 75 municipal councils, 5,142 candidates are in fray in 1,282 constituencies while 800 candidates are contesting in 218 constituencies of 20 Nagar Panchayats.

35,45,567 voters are registered in these municipal bodies, of which 17,11,635 are women and 220 others.

A total of 740 polling stations were declared sensitive and 275 hypersensitive.

Approximately 35,000 election workers and 32,000 police officers were deployed for election duties.

Voters, especially the elderly and women, were seen queuing outside polling stations in the morning, despite heat wave warnings.

Punjab BJP Working President Ashwani Sharma cast his vote at Pathankot polling station and urged people to exercise their right to vote and make Pathankot a ‘developed Pathankot’ and strengthen democracy.

AAP MLA Amansher Singh Sherry Kalsi cast his vote in Batala.

Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring along with his wife Amrita Warring reached the polling booth in Muktsar on a bullock cart. Warring said he wanted to send a message to the Union government that ordinary citizens were “suffering” due to frequent fuel price hikes.

Punjab Cabinet Ministers Aman Arora and Harjot Singh Bains also urged voters to cast their vote.

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia alleged that wheelchairs for differently-abled voters were not arranged in polling booths. He claimed that voters who are unable to walk independently face inconvenience.

Officials said elaborate arrangements were made to ensure smooth, peaceful and transparent polling, while adequate security personnel were deployed at polling stations and sensitive locations to maintain law and order.

The Punjab government has declared May 26 a holiday in the state to facilitate voting. The holiday will also cover all government offices, boards, corporations and educational institutions of Punjab in Chandigarh.

The local body elections are seen as crucial for all major political parties – AAP, BJP, Congress and SAD – as they are held ahead of the 2027 Punjab assembly elections.

Published – 26 May 2026 11:32 IST