Two incidents of firing were reported as voting for panchayat polls was in process in Punjab. Four people were injured in Sohal Sain village in Tarn Taran and two were injured in another similar incident in Patiala.
The panchayat polls in Punjab proceeded after the Supreme Court of India on Tuesday, decided not to put a stay saying there would be "chaos" if courts started staying elections on polling day. Voting began at 8 AM, with about 13.3 million registered voters ready to make their voices heard.
"If polling has started today, how can we intervene at this stage? Probably the high court realized the gravity of it and vacated the stay on the elections," the bench, comprising justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, headed by CJI DY Chandrachud said.
The court stressed that granting such stays could create troubling precedents, risking disruptions in future elections, including parliamentary and assembly votes. "There will be chaos if we stay the polling that too on the polling day," the Chief Justice warned.
The top court, however, agreed to hear the pleas challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court decision allowing panchayat polls in Punjab. This decision followed petitions that challenged a ruling from the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had dismissed nearly 1,000 claims of irregularities in the nomination process.
"You can always challenge the (poll) results...How can we stay it now…. the polls must have begun now. Suppose we stay now, there will be complete chaos. Staying the conduct of elections is a grave thing," the CJI said.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently ruled that the elections should proceed, instructing that the voting be videographed and that candidates refrain from using party symbols, a directive stemming from the Punjab Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which was passed last month. This legislation has allowed many candidates to run without party affiliations.
As voters lined up outside 19,110 polling locations, out of which 1,187 are considered hyper-sensitive—officials noted a strong turnout. By mid-morning, elderly citizens, women, and young voters were seen patiently waiting to cast their ballots for 'sarpanch' and 'panch' positions.
Interestingly, 3,798 candidates for 'sarpanch' have already been elected unopposed, while a total of 25,588 candidates are vying for 'sarpanch' roles and 80,598 for 'panch' positions. These elections are crucial for the governance of 13,937 Gram Panchayats in Punjab, with 96,000 personnel deployed to ensure security and smooth operations.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann encouraged citizens to vote freely and fairly, amidst ongoing allegations from opposition parties about the ruling Aam Aadmi Party's handling of the nomination process. Opposition parties have accused the ruling Aam Aadmi Party government of arbitrarily canceling the nominations of candidates associated with them.
Voting is set to conclude at 4 PM and then the counting of votes will take place at polling stations shortly after, officials said.
