Shimla, April 22 -- State election commissioner Anil Khachi on Tuesday announced that elections to 51 of Himachal Pradesh's 73 urban local bodies (ULBs) will be held on May 17. Addressing media in Shimla, Khachi said the elections will cover four municipal corporations (MCs), 25 municipal councils and 22 nagar panchayats across the state. The elections were due as the tenure of most urban local bodies ended between January and April 2026. The Himachal Pradesh high court had earlier directed that elections be conducted by April 30, a deadline later extended by the Supreme Court to May 31. While MC elections will be held on party symbols, candidates in municipal councils and nagar panchayats willcontest on independent symbols. A formal notification was issued by state election commission on April 21, with Model Code of Conduct coming into immediate effect in these 51 ULBs. There are 64 wards in the four municipal corporations, 229 wards in 25 municipal councils, and 156 wards in 22 nagar panchayats going for polls. The elections are being conducted based on the state electoral rolls. A total of 589 voting centres will be established. As per the election schedule, the public notice will be issued on April 28. Nomination papers can be filed on April 29, 30 and May 2 between 11 am and 3 pm. Scrutiny of nominations will be done on May 4, while nominations could be withdrawn on May 6 between 10 am and 6 pm, after which symbols will be alloted. The list of polling stations will be published on April 29. Polling will be held on May 17 from 7 am to 3 pm. Counting for the municipal councils and nagar panchayats will be done on the same day, while votes for the four MCs will be counted on May 31 from 9 am. Khachi said that there are a total of 3,60,859 eligible voters, including 1,80,963 men, 1,79,882 women and 14 in the "others" category. Of these, 1,808 are first-time voters. The expenditure ceiling has been fixed at Rs.1 lakh for MC candidates, Rs.75,000 for municipal councils runners and Rs.50,000 for nagar panchayat aspirants. The contenders have been directed to submit their expenditure statements within 30 days of declaration of results. Addressing concerns over a possible clash with panchayati raj elections, Khachi stated that there is no conflict between the two electoral exercises. "There is no clash. We have not received any court order in this regard. If any such order comes, it will be examined accordingly," he said. He added that the elections are being conducted on the basis of the state electoral rolls and indicated that the schedule for elections in over 3,600 Panchayats will be announced later this week. The commission expressed confidence in conducting free, fair and peaceful elections across the state with allnecessary arrangements in place. Khachi said elaborate security arrangements are being put in place in coordination with the state police and home department to maintain law and order during the elections. A paid holiday will be observed on the polling day. Following the announcement of polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party state vice president Vipin Parmar welcoming the announcement alleged that the ruling party had been attempting to delay these elections. He alleged that people across villages and cities are frustrated with the policies of the government, and this resentment will be clearly reflected in the election results. He further said that the Congress government has made life difficult for the common people by increasing water tariffs and imposing multiple taxes and charges. The BJP, he said, will take these anti-people decisions to the forefront in the electoral battle and strongly raise public issues. There was no immediate response from Congress till the filing of the report. The Himachal Pradesh government on Tuesday announced a steep hike in incentives for electing all panchayati raj institution members unopposed, in a bid to encourage unanimous elections. The incentive for electing the pradhan, up-pradhan and panch of Gram Sabha unopposed has been increased from Rs.10 lakh to Rs.25 lakh. For Panchayat Samiti members, it saw an increase from Rs.5 lakh to Rs.50 lakh and for Zila Parishad members, including the chairperson and vice-chairperson, from Rs.15 lakh to Rs.1 crore. Officials said attractive incentive would help in building consensus for facilitating election of members without any contest, and monetary help would also help in faster development besides reducing the use of money in the elections to nil. The rural development and panchayati raj department has directed the deputy commissioners of all 12 districts in the state to ensure that the decision is widely publicised. The notification issued by the government also made it clear that the increased incentives would be applicable for the upcoming panchayatiraj institution (PRI) polls, expected to be conducted in May 2026....