Shimla: Polling is underway on Tuesday for the Shimla Municipal Corporation, one of India`s oldest civic bodies, for its 34 wards with 102 candidates in the fray for the contest that is mainly between the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP. The votes will be counted on Thursday.

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Electors could be seen reaching polling stations even before voting started. An election official told IANS there has been no report of any delay in starting the poll process. A total of 93,920 voters, comprising 44,161 women, will exercise their franchise. Half of the wards have been reserved for women.

The BJP has fielded women candidates from 23 wards, while the Congress from 18. Both parties are contesting from all 34 wards. The AAP and CPI(M) have fielded candidates from 21 and four seats, respectively.

While Congress has promised to introduce policies for a uniform tax regime for both old and merged areas, the BJP promised to provide 40,000 liters of free water to every household a month.

The five-year term of the Municipal Corporation had ended in June 2022 but the election could not be held due to a court case that challenged the delimitation of wards. The previous BJP government had increased the number of wards from 34 to 41.

After coming to power, the Congress government in January abolished the seven new wards. In the 2017 elections, the BJP wrested the civic body from the Congress for the first time in 32 years, winning 17 wards. The Congress won 12 wards, the CPI(M) one, and the Independents four.