On polling eve, Punjab Congress wants panchayat elections put off by 3 weeks

The Punjab Congress has sought the postponement of the panchayat elections slated for Tuesday, alleging irregularities in the nomination process and also apprehending irregularities during the counting of votes.
A delegation of the Congress, led by leader of opposition in the assembly Partap Singh Bajwa, on Monday met the Punjab state election commissioner in Chandigarh and urged that the polls be deferred by three weeks.
Elections to 13,229 gram panchayats are slated to be held on October 15.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Bajwa said alleged “massive irregularities” were committed during the nomination process as papers of opposition-backed candidates were “wrongfully” rejected.
Many candidates were not given no-objection certificates (NOC) required during the nominations filing, he said.
Many such candidates, whose nominations were “wrongfully” rejected, have already approached the Punjab and Haryana high court, he said.
“We want the election process to be postponed by three weeks. We do not want cancellation of the panchayat elections,” he said.
Bajwa also claimed that the voters’ list of January 1, 2023 has been considered for the panchayat elections instead of the voters’ list of January 1, 2024 which was considered during the Lok Sabha elections.
Many voters, who voted during the Lok Sabha elections, won’t be able to cast votes in the panchayat elections, he said.
Bajwa alleged that the ruling AAP had printed fake ballot papers in each village for the posts of sarpanch and panch for “rigging” the elections. “We demand that holograms should be fixed on ballot papers,” he said.
“We have apprehension of massive irregularities during counting of votes,” he added.