Panaji, August 10: Polling was underway for 186 panchayat bodies in Goa on Wednesday with more than 5,000 candidates in the fray, an official said. The polling began at 8 am and will conclude at 5 pm, it was stated.

At least 5,038 candidates are contesting the panchayat polls from 1,464 wards across Goa, an official from the state election commission said. A total of 64 candidates have already been elected unopposed from different village panchayats, of which 41 are from North Goa and 23 from South Goa, the senior official said.

North Goa district has 97 panchayats with 2,667 candidates in the fray, while 2,371 are contesting polls for 89 panchayats in South Goa, he said. There are 3,85,867 voters in North Goa and 4,11,153 in South Goa, as per official data. Arvind Kejriwal in Gujarat Today, To Announce Another Pre-Poll 'Guarantee'.

The administration has already imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) across the state, and liquor ban has also been enforced on Tuesday and Wednesday.

(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)