Polls announced for Patiala Municipal Corporation and two Moga councils, voting on Nov 28

The Punjab State Election Commission has announced the election schedule for local bodies in Patiala and Moga districts. According to the notified schedule, voting will take place on November 28 from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Under this election process, fresh polls will be held in 30 constituencies of Patiala Municipal Corporation, besides Baghapurana (15 wards) and Dharamkot (7 wards) councils under Moga district. With the announcement of the election schedule, the model code of conduct has come into force within the jurisdictions of the concerned municipalities.

The filing of nomination papers will begin on November 13. Nominations will not be accepted during the intervening three days—November 14, 15, and 16—due to holidays, after which papers can be submitted from November 17 to 19.

Scrutiny of the submitted nomination papers will be conducted on November 20, while candidates can withdraw their names until 3:00 pm on November 21. Voting will be conducted using EVM machines, and instructions regarding counting will be issued separately by the commission.

For the elections, 123 polling stations in Patiala, 20 in Baghapurana, and 7 in Dharamkot have been designated. A total of 1,76,429 voters in these areas will exercise their franchise, including 91,415 men, 84,999 women, and 15 other voters.

An expenditure limit has also been fixed for election contestants, under which corporation candidates can spend up to Rs 4 lakh and candidates of second-category municipal councils can spend a maximum of Rs 2.30 lakh. The KYC details of the candidates will be uploaded on district websites, and a monitoring committee of the Punjab and Haryana High Court will oversee the entire election process.

Key developments

• Elections to be held in 30 wards of Patiala corporation, 15 of Baghapurana, and 7 of Dharamkot
• Nominations to start from November 13, with holidays from November 14 to 16
• Voting through EVMs on November 28 from 8 am to 4 pm