The campaigning period for the panchayati raj elections in Himachal Pradesh officially ended on Sunday at 3 PM, paving the way for polling in 1,293 gram panchayats scheduled for May 26, 28, and 30. According to Surjeet Singh Rathore, the state election commission secretary, candidates are now limited to door-to-door campaigning only. The elections will be conducted in three phases, utilizing ballot papers from 7 AM to 3 PM. A total of 31,182 posts are contested, which includes 3,754 pradhans, 3,754 up-pradhans, 21,654 gram panchayat members, 1,769 panchayat samiti members, and 251 zila parishad members. Notably, 10,854 candidates have already been elected unopposed, indicating a significant level of uncontested positions. To facilitate the voting process, the commission has set up 21,678 polling stations, with 1,585 categorized as highly sensitive and 3,554 as sensitive. Furthermore, around 8,198 polling parties have been deployed to ensure smooth conduct of the elections across the state.