District Election Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner Komal Mittal today chaired a meeting with representatives of recognised political parties regarding the rationalisation of polling stations in accordance with the guidelines of the Election Commission of India. During the meeting, the draft proposal prepared by the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) of the respective Assembly Constituencies for the establishment of new polling stations and the shifting of certain existing polling stations was shared and discussed.
The Deputy Commissioner informed that, as per the draft proposal, 98 new polling stations have been recommended across the district. She said the primary objective of increasing the number of polling stations is to ensure that no polling station has more than 1,200 electors. In addition, as per the Election Commission of India guidelines, every elector should have access to a polling station within a two-kilometre radius of his or her place of residence.
She further informed that the proposal includes 36 new polling stations in 52-Kharar Assembly Constituency, 27 new polling stations in 53-SAS Nagar (Mohali) Assembly Constituency and 35 new polling stations in 112-Dera Bassi Assembly Constituency. The Deputy Commissioner clarified that this is a draft proposal, which will be forwarded to the Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab, for approval after incorporating the suggestions received from the recognised political parties.
Representatives of various political parties attended the meeting, offered their suggestions and expressed support for the draft proposal. Those present included Bahadur Singh Chahal (Aam Aadmi Party), Surinder Singh (Bahujan Samaj Party), Brajinder Sharma and Harkesh Chand Sharma (Indian National Congress), Ramanjot Singh (Shiromani Akali Dal), and Anil Kumar Guddu (Bharatiya Janata Party).
During the meeting, the District Election Officer also reviewed the progress of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR-2026) and urged political parties to ensure a more proactive role of their Booth Level Agents (BLAs) in the ongoing revision process so that accurate, updated and error-free electoral rolls can be prepared.
Election Tehsildar Harpreet Kaur, District SVEEP Nodal Officer Pro. Gurbakhshish Singh Antal, Election Kanungo Surinder Batra, Election Kanungo (Mohali) Varun, Jagtar Singh and other officials were also present on the occasion.