Polling for Moodbidri, Mulki, Sullia ULBs today

Polling for three urban local bodies (ULBs) – Mulki Town Panchayat, Moodbidri Town Municipal Council, and Sullia Town Panchayat – will be held on Wednesday.

There are 173 candidates in the fray for the 61 seats in these urban local bodies.

43 in fray

Mulki Town Panchayat has 18 wards. There are 43 candidates in the fray. The Mulki Town Panchayat had 17 wards in the previous term. After delimitation of wards, one ward has been included for this election. It was the BJP that was in power in Mulki in the last term with 11 seats. The Congress had six seats out of 17. Mulki has 13,998 voters.

The Moodbidri Town Municipal Council has 23 wards and 77 candidates are in fray. In the previous term, the Congress was in power in the TMC with 15 members, the BJP had four members, the JD(S) had three, and the CPM had one seat. There are 25,062 voters in Moodbidri Town Municipal Council jurisdiction.

Sullia Town Panchayat has 20 wards and 53 candidates are contesting in the elections. Sullia Town Panchayat had completed its tenure on March 11, 2019. The tahsildar was the administrator of the Town Panchayat. The wardwise reservation list was announced six months ago. After the delimitation, the wards have been increased from 18 to 20. In the previous term, it was the BJP that was ruling in the Town Panchayat with 13 members. The Congress had five members.

In Sullia, the BJP is hoping for a hat-trick victory. The BJP was in power from 1997 to 2002, from 2009 to 2013 and from 2014 to 2019. There are 14,093 voters in the Town Panchayat limits.

EVM to be used

Electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be used for polling but without the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT).

Indelible ink will be applied on the ring finger of the left hand. The polling will be held from 7 am to 5 pm. The counting of the votes will be held on May 31 at the respective taluk centres.

All the arrangements have been made for the smooth conduct of the polling.