Punjab Zila Parishad, Block Samiti Elections Begin, 19 pc polling recorded till 12 noon

December 14, 2025

Amritsar: Voting for the Zila Parishad and Block Samiti elections is taking place in Punjab today (December 14). Voting began at 8 am and will continue until 4 pm. Voting is being conducted using ballot papers, not EVM machines. The election results will be declared on December 17.

Meanwhile, in Moga, a teacher couple’s car fell into a drain due to fog, resulting in their deaths. A dispute broke out between two groups in Betu Kadim village in Ferozepur, resulting in bricks and stones being thrown. The atmosphere at the voting center remained tense. Police have arrived at the scene.

In Fatehgarh Sahib, an AAP candidate posted ballot papers on social media before voting began. The Akali Dal questioned how they obtained ballot papers with serial numbers already in place. Elections were canceled in two blocks in Amritsar.

Voter turnout across the state was 19.1% as of 12 noon. Elections are being held for 347 district council seats and 2,838 block committee seats across 23 districts. A total of 9,775 candidates are in the fray.

In the village of Raisar, Patiala, in the Mahal Kalan area of ​​Barnala, Akali leader Bachitar Singh said that the Akali Dal’s election symbol was not on the postal ballots. Following the uproar, SDM Beant Singh and DSP Jaspal Singh arrived in Mahal Kalan. Voting had been suspended for three hours, until 1:30 p.m.

Elections for 347 Zila Parishad and 2,838 Block Samiti seats

Elections are being held for 347 Zila Parishad and 2,838 Block Samiti seats across the state. A total of 9,775 candidates are contesting in 23 districts. Around 90,000 personnel have been deployed to ensure the smooth conduct of the election process.

9,775 candidates in fray

Of these, 1,280 candidates are contesting for Zila Parishad and 8,495 for Block Samiti. Voting teams left for polling stations on Saturday night. Aam Aadmi Party, Congress, Akali Dal, BJP and Bahujan Samaj Party are contesting on their respective symbols.

860 booths declared hyper-sensitive

Based on intelligence and police reports, the State Election Commission has declared 860 polling stations as hyper-sensitive and 3,405 as sensitive. Additional police force has been deployed at all these centres, and tight security arrangements have been made.

Senior officers appointed as observers for fair elections

The State Election Commission has made extensive arrangements to ensure fair and peaceful elections. For the first time, senior IAS and PCS officers have been appointed as observers in all 23 districts. Apart from this, IPS officers have also been deployed in Patiala, Sangrur, Barnala, Tarn Taran, Rupnagar, Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Moga.

340 Panchayat Samiti candidates elected unopposed

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann informed during a press conference in Chandigarh on Saturday that 340 Aam Aadmi Party candidates have been elected unopposed in the Panchayat Samiti elections. Apart from this, three Congress and eight independent candidates also won unopposed. The Chief Minister categorically rejected the opposition’s allegations that nominations were not allowed to be filed or were rejected.

Commission on alert over fake ballot papers

The State Election Commission has sounded a high alert regarding the possibility of fake ballot papers during the elections. Strict instructions have been issued regarding the printing, distribution and security of ballot papers.

An English newspaper recently claimed that a political party in Ambala was printing fake ballot papers. Following this, the commission has directed to keep a complete record of the ballot papers printed from the authorized printing presses.