Chandigarh: Polling for the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections in Punjab began at 8 am on Sunday and will continue till 4 pm. An overall voter turnout of 19 per cent was recorded till 12 noon.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and his wife Dr Gurpreet Kaur cast their votes at a polling booth in Mangwal village near Sangrur. Speaking to the media, the Chief Minister said that with elections underway, people in rural areas should come out in large numbers to vote, recalling the sacrifices made to secure democratic rights.
Meanwhile, controversy surfaced during polling in Raisar village of the Mahal Kalan constituency.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) accused the Election Commission of bullying after chaos erupted at Booth No. 20 of the Block Samiti over the alleged absence of the SAD symbol on ballot papers.
Polling was also cancelled in Khasa and Khurmania villages of Amritsar district due to printing errors in the ballot papers. Officials said that while the name of the Aam Aadmi Party candidate was printed correctly in Khasa village, the election symbol was incorrect, forcing the cancellation of voting.
