Punjab Elections witnessed an unusual development in the Samana region where five villages completely boycotted the district council and block committee polls. Not a single vote was cast in these villages, highlighting deep public anger over an administrative decision.
The dispute began after 42 villages were removed from Samana block and merged with Patran block. In protest, residents of five villages had announced three months ago that they would not vote for any political party. They stood firm on election day and stayed away from polling booths.
The villages that enforced the boycott are Bhedpuri, Dodra, Kotli, Sahajpura Kalan and Sahajpura Khurd. Booth numbers 159 to 163 were set up in these areas. Together, the villages have 3,858 registered voters, but polling officials confirmed zero turnout. Polling staff remained present throughout the day despite the boycott.
Villagers Gurmeet Singh and Gurdip Singh said their villages earlier fell under Samana block. After being shifted to Patran block, residents now have to travel nearly 35 kilometres for official work. They said repeated memorandums submitted to authorities brought no relief.
Angered by the lack of response, villagers chose to boycott the elections. They also warned that if the issue remains unresolved, they will continue to boycott future elections.
SDM Samana Richa Goyal said the villagers’ demand has been forwarded to senior officer and the matter is under consideration at the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Patiala level.
