Himachal Pradesh's panchayat polls to be held in three phases in January

The Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) elections in Himachal Pradesh will be held in three phases in the next month, the state election commissioner said on Monday.

Issuing the election schedule, State Election Commissioner Parthasarthi Mitra said that the polls to the PRI would be held on January 17, 19 and 21.

The nomination papers maybe filed from 11 am to 3 pm from December 31 to January 2.

The scrutiny will be held on January 4 and the nominations maybe withdrawn from 10 am to 3 pm on January 6.

The counting of votes for ward members, 'up-pradhan' and 'pradhan' of gram panchayat will be conducted soon after completion of voting.

However, the counting of votes for members of the panchayat samiti and zila parishad will be conducted on January 22.

The election process will be completed by January 23, he added.

Earlier on December 17, the state election commissioner said that municipal council and nagar panchayat elections in the state would be held on January 10.