Is the garbage in front of your home being cleared regularly? Are you getting a regular flow of drinking water? Residents of the Bihar capital are grappling with these — and many more — questions as elections to the Patna Municipal Corporation draws near. Metro gives you a low-down on what the polls entail

Q. How many wards are there in the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC)?

A. 72. Polls for 70 wards will be held on Thursday, May 17. Vinay Kumar Pappu, who was the sole candidate from Ward 28, has already been declared winner unopposed. Elections for Ward 39 will be held on May 22.

Q. How are wards divided in the city?

A. Delimitation of wards is done by district election officials under the supervision of the state election commission on the basis of population. Ahead of the 2007 civic polls, the number of wards in PMC was increased from 57 to 72. Before 2002, the state capital was divided into 37 wards. Most of the wards each have between 10,000 and 15,000 voters.

Q. How are the civic elections fought?

A. Civic elections in Bihar are not fought on party lines. However, many activists attached with political parties contest the polls. Various social workers, traders, contractors etc who want to get a foot into the political ring also throw in the hat.

Q. How are the ward councillors elected? How are the mayor and his deputy elected?

Councillors are elected directly by the electorates of the respective ward through universal adult franchise. The mayor and deputy mayor are elected by the respective councillors from among themselves. The person getting more than half the total number of votes recorded is declared elected as mayor or his deputy.

Q. Do candidates fight on political symbols?

A. No. As the urban local bodies’ elections in the state are not fought on party lines, political parties are not directly involved in the exercise. However, after candidates file their nominations and they are scrutinised by the district election officials, they are allotted an election symbol each based on the alphabetical order of their names in each ward. But two different candidates having the same symbol in two wards does not imply their affiliation with the same political outfit.

Q. Who forms the Municipal Corporation?

According to provisions of the Bihar Municipal Act 2007, there are three municipal authorities — the corporation, empowered standing committee and municipal commissioner. PMC consists of a mayor and 70 other ward councillors. The PMC functions through an empowered standing committee which consists of seven ward councillors, including the mayor and deputy mayor. Members of the Lok Sabha and the state Legislative Assembly representing constituencies which fall wholly or partially under the corporation area and the members of the state Legislative Council registered as electors within the municipal corporation area are also members of this corporation.

All 72 wards are under the executive control of four circles. Each circle is administered by an executive officer who is deputed by the state government. The administration of the corporation is under the direct control of the municipal commissioner.

Q. How can you vote?

A. If your name is in the voter list that has been published by the state election commission, you are eligible to cast your vote during the civic elections if you carry specified identity documents along. Details like name and number of booth where your name is registered are available at the district election office, PMC and state election commission. You can also visit the commission’s website www.secbihar.org to know your polling station. Most of the candidates also give information like polling station to voters.

Q. Where can you vote?

A. Polling booths are generally located in public buildings within the ward. If there is no public building available in the ward, the polling station may be set up in a field or house subject to approval by the commission.

Normally, a voter’s polling booth is within 1.5km radius of their residence.