Jalandhar: The district administrations and police officials of the four Doaba districts – Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur, and Nawanshahr – have completed their preparations for the District Council and Panchayat Samiti elections to be held on December 14 (Sunday). Voting will take place from 8 am to 4 pm. Officials said that voters will receive two ballot papers – one yellow, on which they will mark their choice for the District Council candidate, and one white, for the Panchayat Samiti candidate. Jalandhar Rural Police has made elaborate security arrangements to ensure peaceful elections, deploying over 2,500 police personnel across the district. 24-hour surveillance will be maintained at 880 polling locations and 1,126 polling booths. A total of 30 patrolling parties will be on duty round the clock. SPs, DSPs, and SHOs have been instructed to conduct checks and searches.
Jalandhar Police has identified 65 booths as highly sensitive, 284 as sensitive, and 531 as normal. Gurdwaras, religious institutions, and deras will also be under special surveillance. Teams will also be on alert along riverbanks, in secluded areas, and in markets. SSP Jalandhar Rural Harwinder Singh Virk has urged the public to report any untoward incident to the helpline number 112 or the Jalandhar Rural Police Control Room (78373-40100). In Jalandhar, there are 80 candidates for 25 District Council zones and 582 candidates for 191 Panchayat Samiti zones. A total of 1,683 booths will be set up, each with polling parties of five members. The administration has imposed a ban on public gatherings and meetings in the polling areas for the District Council and Panchayat Samiti elections. According to orders issued by the Additional District Magistrate, no public gatherings will be allowed in the polling areas from 4 pm on December 12 to 4 pm on December 14. However, door-to-door campaigning by groups of four people has been permitted. Outsiders, including political leaders and their supporters, are not allowed to enter polling areas.
Jalandhar: Two-colored ballot papers for rural elections.
