Polling underway for municipal corporation election in Panipat

 Polling was underway on Sunday to elect the Mayor and 26 councillors of the municipal corporation in Panipat, with nearly 16 percent of the over four lakh eligible voters casting their votes by 12 noon.

Polling began at 8.am at 365 polling booths and voters can exercise their franchise till 6 pm.

Four candidates are contesting for the Mayor's post and 103 candidates are in contest for the 26 councillor's posts in the Panipat Municipal Corporation.

Earlier on March 2, among the civic bodies which went to polls in the state, voting was held to elect the mayors and ward members of seven municipal corporations -- Gurugram, Manesar, Faridabad, Hisar, Rohtak, Karnal and Yamunanagar.

Bypolls for the mayors' posts in Ambala and Sonipat and the election of the presidents and ward members in 21 municipal committees were also held on March 2.

The votes will be counted on March 12 and the results for all the MCs including Panipat, will be declared the same day.

Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini had recently exuded confidence that the BJP would win the civic polls and said work would be done three times faster after the formation of a "triple-engine" government, a reference to the saffron party being in power at the Centre, in the state as well as in the civic bodies.

The Congress had also appealed to the voters to elect the party candidates with a full majority.

The grand old party, out of office in Haryana for more than 10 years, is looking to turn around its electoral fortunes in the civic polls.