Elections in 34 wards of the Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) will be held on May 2 and the results will be declared on May 4, as per the Himachal Pradesh state election commission.

According to the schedule released by the commission, filing of nominations will take place on April 13, 17 and 18 between 11 am and 3 pm, and scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on April 19. About 87,000 voters will be able to exercise their franchise in the polls, it said.

The last date of withdrawal of nomination is April 21 and the symbols would be allotted on the same day. The elections would be held on May 2 and results would be declared on May 4. The Himachal Pradesh government had on Saturday notified reserved wards for women and Scheduled Castes for the 34-ward Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC).

Only 14 wards are unreserved while three are reserved for Scheduled caste. The BJP had wrested the SMC from the Congress after 32 years in 2017 and later, the BJP government increased the number of wards from 34 to 41 but the Congress government reversed the decision and delimitation of wards was done again. The five-year term of the SMC expired in June 2022 but the elections could not be held due to court cases challenging the delimitation of wards.