Ludhiana, February 24: Polling for the biggest municipal body in Punjab - Ludhiana Municipal Corporation is currently underway amid tight security. Voting started today morning at 8 AM and will continue till 4 PM. As per reports by a senior official around 4,500 policemen have been deployed to ensure no disturbances occur. Bypolls for two wards in Payal (ward 5) and Jagraon (ward 17) municipal councils will also be held. As per reports, 1,153 polling stations have been created for voters to exercise their franchise. Reports state that the counting for will be held on February 27.

The ruling Congress is geared up for a face-off against the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) alliance and the Aam Aadmi Party-Lok Insaf Party (AAP-LIP) alliance. About  10.5 lakh voters in Ludhiana will decide the fate of 494 contesting candidates in the Municipal Corporation polls today. It must be noted that of the 10.5 lakh voters, 5.67 lakh are male, 4.82 lakh female, while 23 belong to the third gender.  To recall, the ruling Congress has won in 20 out of 29 Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats and had also won municipal elections in the Amritsar, Patiala and Jalandhar corporations in December.

Currently the Congress is in power in Punjab since last year. Over 4,500 policemen have been deployed to ensure no disturbances occur. According to District Electoral Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Agrawal around 5,400 civil administration employees are also engaged in the entire election process apart from the policemen.

A holiday has been declared by the state government in all government offices, corporations, boards, and educational institutions in all election areas on February 24. According to a report in Hindustan Times, paid holiday has been also declared in factories, shops and other commercial establishments under The Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881, in order to enable the people to cast votes.

As per reports by Hindustan Times, a paid holiday has been also declared in factories, shops and other commercial establishments. These holidays have been declared under The Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881, in order to enable the people to exercise their franchise.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 24, 2018 12:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).