Chandigarh, Feb 7 (PTI) Elections to the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) will be held on March 6, according to an official statement issued on Wednesday.

Commissioner of gurdwara elections Justice HS Bhalla (retd) released the schedule for the first general elections of the "Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee" in all 40 wards across the state, it said.

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The notice inviting nominations will be published on February 9, according to the schedule.

Following this, nominations can be filed from February 10 to 16 -- except on February 11 (Sunday) and February 14 (a gazetted holiday). The scrutiny of nominations will be carried out on February 17, the statement said.

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If a candidate's nomination is rejected by the returning officer, an application can be submitted to the deputy commissioner concerned by February 19 following which a decision will be rendered by February 20, according to it.

The list of valid nominations will be published on the same day, February 20. Candidates can withdraw their nominations the following day, the statement said.

The list of polling stations will be released on February 23. Polling, if required, will take place on March 6 and the polling hours will be from 8 am to 5 pm, it said.

Following the conclusion of the voting process, votes will be conducted immediately and results declared on the same day.

A separate committee to manage affairs of gurdwaras in Haryana was formed in 2022 after the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara (Management) Act, 2014.

Thereafter, the Haryana government had nominated an ad hoc gurdwara panel '? Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC), whose tenure was to expire in 18 months. --

(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)