Chandigarh, May 13 (IANS) In a straight contest between the ruling BJP and the principal Opposition Congress, counting of ballots for Haryana’s seven urban local bodies, besides 528 panchayats, began on Wednesday that saw a voter turnout of 54.5 per cent.

The municipal corporations are of Ambala, Panchkula and Sonipat, besides elections to the Rewari municipal council and municipal committees in Sampla, Dharuhera and Uklana.

By-elections for one ward each were also held in Tohana, Jhajjar, Rajound, Taraori, Kanina and Sadhaura.

The BJP and the Congress party are the main parties in the fray.

BJP candidates Akshita Saini, Shyamlal Bansal and Rajiv Jain are contesting the mayoral races in Ambala, Panchkula and Sonipat, respectively, while the Congress has fielded Kulwinder Kaur, Sudha Bhardwaj and Kamal Diwan.

A total of 475,948 votes were cast out of 8,73,177 voters. State Election Commissioner Devender Kalyan said instructions have been issued to district election officers and returning officers to ensure transparency in the counting of votes.

He said the counting process will be closely monitored to maintain credibility. Special police security has been deployed at the counting centres. Authorities have also ordered strict monitoring of anti-social elements.

According to the Election Commission, the municipal committee of Sampla recorded the highest turnout at 79.2 per cent, followed by Uklana with 75.7 per cent, and Dharuhera at 72.4 per cent.

Rewari municipal council recorded around 64.8 per cent polling. The higher voter turnout in Sampla, which falls under former Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda’s constituency, has left political observers guessing as the BJP contested the election on a party symbol. In the absence of a Congress candidate, Hooda had sought votes in favour of the candidate who was capable of defeating the BJP.

In Sonepat and Rewari, the BJP and Congress were locked in a straight contest. In Sonepat, the fight was between the BJP’s Rajiv Jain and the Congress candidate Kamal Diwan. BJP’s Nikita Goel was facing a strong challenge from Independent Rima Soni in Uklana. Similarly, several Independent candidates made the contests multi-cornered in municipal committees, including Sampla and Dharuhera.

–IANS

vg/dpb