Panjab Civic Polls Through Ballot Paper Amid Sporadic Violence

May

2026

Elections to eight Municipal Corporations and 97 Municipal Councils in Panjab took place on 26 May in which 7,555 candidates contested across 1,896 wards. Of them, 1,613 candidates contested for 396 wards in eight Municipal Corporations; 5,142 candidates contested in 1,282 wards in 75 Municipal Councils; 800 candidates contested 218 wards of 20 Nagar Panchayats (town councils). The electorate across the 103 urban bodies stood at 3.5M, of which 65.18% voted. 32K police personnel and 35K election staff were deployed. Earlier, on 22 May, the Punjab and Haryana High Court (PHHC) had dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging use of ballot papers instead of Electronic Voting machines (EVMs). The Panjab State Election Commission (SEC) informed the court that the civic body polls in the state are being conducted through ballot papers, as the Election Commission of India (ECI) failed to provide EVMs according to the schedule finalized by SEC. On 25 May, the Supreme Court of India also dismissed the PIL. In another case challenging the delimitation of wards for the elections in some councils, the Panjab government assured the court that the elections will be conducted based on the ward delimitation finalized on 16 Apr and the case has been closed. Elections to four Municipal Councils are deferred to 10 Jun. In councils where seats are reserved for women candidates, they are contesting the elections in record numbers. However, on the campaign trail, often the husbands or male family members of the candidates are taking charge of the microphones, strategy meetings and public outreach. Even in posters, the woman candidate’s photograph often appears modestly in one corner, while a much larger image of her husband dominates the poster, projecting an image of a local strongman or political operator. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party's Meri Rasoi (My Kitchen) Scheme also triggered a political storm in Jalandhar with Opposition parties accusing the government of openly misusing a welfare scheme for campaigning. Shiromani Akali Dal requested for an extension in polling hours. On polling day, there were clashes in Bathinda; violence in Raikot, Ludhiana district, Moga's Ward 41, Barnala's Ward 33; heated arguments between rival parties took place at Faridkot and Mansa. The results of the civic polls will be declared on 29 May (earlier coverage).