104 Nominations Filed Despite Poll Deferral

The Kharar Sub-Divisional Magistrate’s office accepted 104 nomination papers on Saturday even after the Punjab and Haryana High Court deferred the Kharar Municipal Council election, according to local reports. The filings came as candidates and supporters continued to arrive under the original municipal poll schedule announced earlier this week. The wider Mohali district process also continued in neighboring urban bodies, with Zirakpur Municipal Council alone drawing 259 candidates. The episode followed a court hearing over ward delimitation in newly added areas of Kharar. ### Why were nomination papers still being filed after the poll was deferred? Saturday’s filings continued because the nomination window for Punjab’s urban local body elections had already been opened from May 13 to May 16 under the State Election Commission schedule. The Tribune reported that chaos prevailed at the Kharar SDM office as candidates turned up despite the court-ordered deferral. The Punjab and Haryana High Court deferred the Kharar Municipal Council poll after a petition said residents of newly added areas in six villages were being deprived of voting and electoral rights because delimitation was incomplete, The Tribune reported. A separate Tribune feed item said Punjab gave an undertaking before the High Court to defer the Kharar municipal council election. (tribuneindia.com) ### What was the original election schedule for Kharar and nearby councils? May 26 was the scheduled poll date for the Mohali Municipal Corporation and municipal councils including Kharar, Kurali, Naya Gaon, Zirakpur, Derabassi, Lalru and Banur, according to The Tribune. The same report said nominations were to be filed from May 13 to May 16, scrutiny was fixed for May 18, and withdrawals for May 19. (tribuneindia.com) May 29 was the scheduled counting date for Punjab’s urban local body elections covering eight municipal corporations and 102 councils, The Indian Express reported. The model code of conduct also came into force with the election announcement, the newspaper said. ### How many candidates filed in Kharar and Zirakpur? (tribuneindia.com) The Kharar SDM office received 104 nominations on Saturday, The Tribune reported. The same report said the filings came even though the Kharar poll had been deferred by the High Court. Zirakpur Municipal Council saw 259 total candidates file papers, according to The Tribune’s report from Saturday. (indianexpress.com) Hindustan Times had reported earlier in the week that nomination activity started slowly, with only three candidates filing on Thursday across Kharar and Zirakpur combined in the early phase. ### Who was among the candidates filing on Saturday? (tribuneindia.com) Baljit Kaur Dhaliwal, identified by The Tribune as a Punjab Mahila Congress leader, submitted nomination papers for Ward No. 37 in Kharar. The report listed her among candidates who turned up at the SDM office during the final day of filing. Congress had also moved early in the broader Mohali civic contest. (tribuneindia.com) Hindustan Times reported two days earlier that the party was the first to announce its full slate for the Mohali Municipal Corporation election, while nominations in Kharar and Zirakpur were still building. ### What is the dispute over Kharar’s ward map? (tribuneindia.com) A petition before the High Court challenged the electoral process on the ground that delimitation in newly added areas had not been completed, The Tribune reported on Saturday. The complaint centered on six villages whose residents, the petition said, were being denied full voting and electoral rights. (hindustantimes.com) A January Tribune report had also cited Congress complaints that Kharar’s revised ward delimitation map had not been made public at the municipal council office even after the deadline for objections ended. That earlier dispute shows the ward-boundary issue had been raised before the current nomination phase. (tribuneindia.com) ### What happens next in the election process? May 18 remains the scheduled date for scrutiny of nomination papers under the election calendar published this week, and May 19 is the deadline for withdrawals, according to The Tribune. Whether those steps proceed in Kharar after the High Court deferral was not clear from the reports reviewed. (tribuneindia.com) The State Election Commission’s municipal election notifications page lists the 2026 general election notification issued on May 12. Further changes for Kharar are likely to appear through court proceedings or commission orders tied to that notification process. (sec.punjab.gov.in) (tribuneindia.com)