Polling to Punjab's 103 municipal bodies, including eight municipal corporations, is underway, with voting through ballot papers beginning at 8 am. The voting is set to continue till 5 pm.
Counting of votes will take place on May 29.
Polling is taking place in 1,896 wards of the municipal bodies which include eight municipal corporations of Mohali, Bathinda, Abohar, Barnala, Kapurthala, Moga, Batala, and Pathankot, 75 municipal councils and 20 Nagar Panchayats, officials said.
A total of 7,555 candidates are in the fray for the civic bodies elections in the state, which are being keenly watched by political observers ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly polls.
Ruling party AAP has fielded maximum number of candidates at 1,801, followed by 1,550 candidates of the Congress, 1,316 nominees of the BJP, 1,251 candidates of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and 96 nominees of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
Besides, there are 1,528 Independent candidates for the local body elections.
A total of 1,613 candidates are fighting in 396 wards of eight municipal corporations.
In 75 municipal councils, 5,142 candidates are contesting in 1,282 wards, while 800 candidates are in the fray in 218 wards of 20 Nagar Panchayats.
There are 35,45,567 registered voters for these municipal bodies, which include 17,11,635 women and 220 others.
A total of 740 polling booths have been declared sensitive and 275 hyper-sensitive.
Around 35,000 election personnel and 32,000 police personnel have been deputed on election duty.
Voters were seen queued up at many polling booths in the morning to exercise their franchise.
Punjab BJP working president Ashwani Sharma cast his vote at a polling booth in Pathankot while AAP MLA Amansher Singh Sherry Kalsi cast his vote in Batala.
Punjab Cabinet ministers Aman Arora and Harjot Singh Bains urged voters to cast their votes.
The Supreme Court had on Monday junked a plea challenging the Punjab State Election Commission's decision of holding the polls for municipal corporations, municipal councils and nagar panchayats through ballot papers.
Officials said elaborate arrangements have been made to ensure smooth, peaceful and transparent polling.
Adequate security personnel have also been deployed at polling stations and sensitive locations to maintain law and order during the electoral process.
The Punjab government has declared a holiday in the state on May 26 to facilitate voters to cast their votes.
This holiday will also apply to all Punjab government offices, boards, corporations, and educational institutions situated in Chandigarh.
The local body elections are being seen as crucial for all major political parties -- AAP, BJP, Congress and SAD -- as these are taking place ahead of the 2027 Punjab assembly polls.
(With inputs from PTI)