Punjab Zila Parishad & Panchayat Samiti elections: EC orders repoll in 28 booths across 7 districts

LUDHIANA: The Election Commission has ordered re-polling in 28 booths across seven districts for Punjab's Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections. The rural polls were held on Wednesday.

The re-polling will be held on Friday, September 21.

The counting is scheduled to be held on Saturday, September 22.

Polling for zila parishads and panchayat samitis in Punjab took place Wednesday amid stray incidents of clashes between Congress and SAD workers and allegations of poll rigging by opposition parties.

Former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal alleged a large number of Congress workers, brandishing swords, were involved in "booth capturing" while charging the police with being "mute spectators".

A total of 354 zila parishad members and 2,900 panchayat samiti members will be elected in these polls, officials said. There are 22 zila parishads and 150 panchayat samitis in the state. A total of 17,268 polling booths were set up, 35 observers appointed and around 50,000 police personnel deployed for the polls in Punjab.

Thirty three candidates were earlier elected unopposed to various zila parishads and 369 nominees were declared elected unopposed to the panchayat samitis.

Former Deputy chief minister and SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and some Akali workers were booked Wednesday for allegedly thrashing a Congress worker at Killianwali village in Punjab's Muktsar district during zila parishad and panchayat samiti polls, officials said.

With agency inputs