Shimla, Apr 21 (PTI) A total of 102 candidates are in the fray for the May 2 Shimla Municipal Corporation polls after the last day of withdrawal of nomination papers on Friday.

Polling for the 34 seats in the Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) will be held on May 2, and votes will be counted on May 4.

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The ruling Congress and the BJP are contesting on all the wards and there is a direct contest between them in 10.

The AAP and the CPI(M) have fielded candidates from 21 and four wards respectively, while nine independents, including Congress rebel and former mayor Sohan Lal who is contesting from Krishna Nagar and BJP rebel Aarti Chauhan from the Engine Ghar ward, are in the fray.

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The elections are being contested on party symbols and the highest number of six candidates is contesting from the Krishna Nagar ward. Triangular contests are on the cards in 12 wards.

The first elections to the SMC were held in 1986 and the Congress party controlled the civic body till 2017. The BJP came to power for the first time in 2017.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)