India, Dec. 15 -- Chandigarh/Sangrur/Jalandhar/Bathinda/Patiala:

With a voter turnout of 48%, the lowest for rural elections in the post-militancy era, polling for the block samiti and zila parishad elections concluded peacefully across the state, barring minor skirmishes in some areas. In the last block samiti and zila parishad elections, held in 2018, the voting percentage was recorded at 58.1%.

The exact figures related to the voting percentage will be updated after the polling parties submit records with their respective returning officers, the state election commission (SEC) said.

Elections were held to elect members of 347 zones of 22 zila parishads and 2,838 zones of 153 panchayat samitis. Over 9,000 candidates were in the fray,...