Counting of votes for the polling to over 100 civic bodies in Punjab is underway on February 17, officials said.

The counting started at 9 a.m. Tight security arrangements have been made at the counting centres, they said.

Over 70% of voting was recorded in the civic body elections on February 14.

A total of 9,222 candidates were in the fray for elections to 2,302 wards of the eight municipal corporations of Abohar, Bathinda, Batala, Kapurthala, Mohali, Hoshiarpur, Pathankot and Moga and 109 municipal councils in the State.

As the State Election Commission had ordered on Feb. 16 re-polling at two polling booths of Mohali Municipal Corporation, the counting for this entire civic body will take place on Feb. 18.

Of the total candidates, 2,832 were Independents, 2,037 from the ruling Congress, while 1,569 were Shiromani Akali Dal nominees.

The BJP, AAP and the BSP had fielded 1,003, 1,606 and 160 candidates, respectively.

The SAD and the BJP fought the elections separately after the former walked out of the National Democratic Alliance over the farm laws issue last year.

After the Opposition parties had accused the ruling Congress of “capturing booths” and “indulging in violence” during polling on Feb. 14, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said on Feb. 16 they were crying foul in the face of their “imminent defeat” in the polls.