Punjab Newsline | Chandigarh
By : Samriti Sharma
Punjab State Election Commission has announced the schedule for conducting re-elections in 52 wards across three urban local bodies in the state. The elections will be held in 30 wards of the Municipal Corporation, Patiala, 15 wards of Municipal Council Bagha Purana and seven wards of Municipal Council Dharamkot.
According to the schedule announced by the Commission, the nomination process will begin on Friday, November 13, and continue until November 19. Candidates can file their nomination papers between 11 am and 3 pm on the scheduled days.
No nominations will be accepted on November 14, 15 and 16 due to holidays. The scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on November 20, while candidates will be allowed to withdraw their nominations until 3 pm on November 21.
Polling for all 52 wards will be conducted on Saturday, November 28, from 8 am to 4 pm. Instructions regarding the counting of votes will be issued separately by the Commission.
The re-election schedule has been announced in pursuance of notifications issued by the Punjab Department of Local Government on October 23 and November 2, 2026.
The Commission stated that all nomination forms must be accompanied by the prescribed affidavit. Candidates sponsored by political parties will also have to submit an authorisation letter issued by their respective parties. The Know Your Candidate (KYC) details of candidates will be uploaded on the respective district websites. Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will be used for polling.
As part of the arrangements, 123 polling booths have been established in the 30 wards of Patiala Municipal Corporation, 20 in the 15 wards of Bagha Purana Municipal Council and seven in the seven wards of Dharamkot Municipal Council.
A total of 1,76,429 registered voters are eligible to participate in the elections. These include 91,415 male voters, 84,999 female voters and 15 voters belonging to other categories.
The State Election Commission has fixed the maximum election expenditure limit at Rs 4 lakh for candidates contesting Municipal Corporation elections and Rs 2.30 lakh for candidates contesting elections in Class-II Municipal Councils.
A Monitoring Committee has also been constituted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to oversee the entire re-election process.
The Commission said that all necessary logistical arrangements had been made to ensure free, fair and peaceful elections.
With the announcement of the election schedule, the Model Code of Conduct has come into immediate effect across the entire jurisdiction of the concerned municipal bodies. It will remain in force until the completion of the election process.
