CHANDIGARH — The Punjab State Election Commission on Thursday, November 12, announced the complete schedule for the re-election of members in 52 municipal wards: 30 wards of the Municipal Corporation, Patiala, 15 wards of the Municipal Council, Bagha Purana, and 7 wards of the Municipal Council, Dharamkot. The Commission said the schedule is notified in pursuance of the Punjab Local Government Department's notifications dated October 23 and November 2, 2026.

Source: Bright Punjab Express (State Election Commission announcement)

Polling will be held on Saturday, November 28, 2026, from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, and the elections will be conducted using EVMs, the Commission said. A total of 1,76,429 registered voters — 91,415 men, 84,999 women and 15 others — will take part across 150 polling booths: 123 booths in the 30 Patiala wards, 20 booths in Bagha Purana and 7 booths in Dharamkot. Instructions for the counting of votes will be issued later, the Commission said. The Tribune also reported the November 28 polling date for the three municipalities on Thursday.

52Municipal wards going back to polls (30 Patiala + 15 Bagha Purana + 7 Dharamkot)
November 28, 2026Polling day, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm, on EVMs
1,76,429Registered voters across the three municipalities
150Polling booths (123 Patiala, 20 Bagha Purana, 7 Dharamkot)

Nominations open Friday; code of conduct in force now

Nomination papers can be filed on Friday, November 13, and then on Tuesday, November 17 and Wednesday, November 18, with Thursday, November 19 as the last day for filing (11:00 am to 3:00 pm on each day); no nominations will be received on November 14, 15 and 16, which the Commission listed as holidays. Scrutiny of nominations will be held on Friday, November 20, and candidates can withdraw their papers by 3:00 pm on Saturday, November 21. Every nomination must be accompanied by the prescribed affidavit and, for party-sponsored candidates, the party's authorisation letter, and candidates' KYC details will be uploaded on the district websites, the Commission said.

With the announcement of the schedule, the Model Code of Conduct has come into force with immediate effect across the whole jurisdiction of the three municipalities and will remain in force until the election process is complete, the Commission said. The notified expenditure limit is Rs 4,00,000 for a Municipal Corporation candidate and Rs 2,30,000 for a Municipal Council (Class II) candidate. The Commission said all logistical arrangements have been made to conduct the elections in a free, fair and peaceful manner, and that a Monitoring Committee set up by the Punjab and Haryana High Court will oversee the entire re-election process.

Thursday's announcement supplies the polling date and detailed schedule that were missing when the Punjab government first notified the fresh polls in October — at that stage only 28 Patiala wards had been notified, with a November 18 completion deadline and no polling date, and the Bagha Purana and Dharamkot councils had not been scheduled at all. Awaaz Punjab reported that notification last month. Read: Patiala to vote again in 28 municipal wards — the October notification

Why these 52 wards are voting again

The re-election follows the Supreme Court's order setting aside the December 2024 municipal election results in these wards. Opposition candidates had alleged — in petitions recorded by the court — that they were stopped from filing nominations through obstruction and intimidation during the 2024 polls; the court appointed a fact-finding commission headed by retired Punjab and Haryana High Court judge Justice Nirmaljit Kaur, accepted its findings, and annulled the results, ordering fresh polls under judicial monitoring. In Patiala, the court's order ultimately covered 30 wards, including wards 15 and 58, which were added later — all 30 are covered by Thursday's schedule.

What happens next: nomination filing opens on Friday morning in all three municipalities, and party activity among ticket seekers in Patiala, Bagha Purana and Dharamkot is expected to intensify over the coming week, with scrutiny on November 20 deciding the final field of candidates before the November 28 vote. The re-election is being watched as an early organisational test for the AAP, Congress, BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections.