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Vote Pole Turnout  7-11 %  Till Ten AM 

Chandigarh: Polling for the zila parishad and panchayat samiti elections began across Punjab at 8 am on Sunday amid tight security arrangements, officials said. Voting will continue till 4 pm, while voting counting is scheduled for December 17.

The elections are being held to elect members to 347 zones of 22 zila parishads and 2,838 zones of 153 panchayat samitis, with over 9,000 candidates contesting. A total of 1.36 crore voters are eligible to cast their ballots.

Early Turnout Moderate Across Districts

Polling saw a steady but moderate turnout in the first two hours. By 10 am, districts reported the following voter participation:

• Muktsar: 10%

• Mohali (Kharar, Majri, Dera Bassi): 10.8%

• Fatehgarh Sahib: 10%

• Mansa: 8.9%

• Bathinda: 8.5%

• Patiala: 8.1%

• Amritsar: 7.1%

• Ludhiana: 7.2%

• Jalandhar: 7.1%

• Kapurthala: 7%

• SBS Nagar: 7%

• Sangrur: 7.02%

• Barnala: 6.69%

Men Outnumber Women in Early Voting in Malerkotla

In the Malerkotla district, men outnumbered women in the initial hours of polling.
By 10 am, 12,223 out of 1,08,463 male voters (11.28%) had cast their votes, compared to 6,365 out of 97,068 women voters (6.56%), taking the overall turnout to 9.05%.

Queues, Senior Citizens Participate

Scenes of civic participation were visible across districts, with elderly voters lining up at polling booths in villages of Jalandhar and Amritsar, underscoring grassroots engagement despite the early-hour chill.

Complaints Emerge in Ludhiana

Some friction was reported in Ludhiana, where Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) workers argued with police at Baddowal village, alleging that names of their supporters were missing from the voter lists.
An older woman also complained that the votes of her family were missing from the electoral rolls, and showed her polling slip to officials.

Heavy Deployment of Polling Staff and Security

Ludhiana District Election Officer Himanshu Jain said the district had 12,45,275 electors, with around 10,000 employees deployed to ensure transparent polling. A total of 1,639 polling booths have been set up in the district, including 316 sensitive and 92 hyper-sensitive booths, with enhanced security measures in place. Across Punjab, district administrations and police have maintained a tight vigil to prevent untoward incidents.

Leaders, Officials Cast Votes

Abohar MLA Sandeep Jakhar was among the early voters, casting his ballot at Panjkosi village.
Patiala Deputy Commissioner Preeti Yadav visited polling booths to inspect arrangements and ensure the smooth conduct of voting. With polling continuing till late afternoon, election officials expressed hope that turnout would pick up as the day progresses. The rural polls are seen as a key political test ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, particularly for the ruling AAP, the opposition Congress, and the Shiromani Akali Dal.