SHIMLA: According to State Election Commission Himachal Pradesh, the nomination process officially began on Wednesday for the three-phase Panchayat polls scheduled later this month.
As many as 16,891 nomination papers were filed on the very first day, reflecting intense political activity and keen public participation in rural Himachal.
Mandi district emerged as the hotspot of electoral enthusiasm with the highest 3,731 nominations, while tribal Lahaul-Spiti recorded the lowest turnout with 74 nominations.
The nomination filing process will continue till May 8. Scrutiny of nomination papers will be carried out on May 12 by the Returning and Assistant Returning Officers concerned, while candidates can withdraw their nominations till May 15.
Polling for the Panchayati Raj institutions will be conducted in three phases on May 26, 28 and 30 from 7 am to 3 pm through ballot papers.
District-wise nomination figures released by the Commission are as follows:
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Bilaspur – 1,459
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Chamba – 2,067
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Hamirpur – 1,572
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Kangra – 1,407
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Kinnaur – 190
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Lahaul-Spiti – 74
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Kullu – 1,383
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Mandi – 3,731
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Shimla – 784
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Sirmaur – 917
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Solan – 1,415
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Una – 1,892
The notification for the Panchayat elections had earlier been issued on April 29 by the State Election Commission.
