A voter turnout of around 70 per cent was recorded on Saturday in the four Lok Sabha constituencies in Himachal Pradesh, where polls were held in the last phase of the general elections. The prominent candidates in the fray are Union minister Anurag Thakur (BJP), former Union minister Anand Sharma (Congress), Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut (BJP), state PWD minister Vikramaditya Singh (Congress). and former BJP state chief and sitting BJP MP from Shimla. Suresh Kashyap. While voting ended at 6 p.m., officials said the voter turnout figure could increase as data is collected. Despite the intense two-month campaign, the polling percentage is significantly lower than the 2019 figure of 80.1 percent, the highest ever recorded in the state.
However, the elections took place peacefully and no untoward incident was reported, officials said. As many as 62 candidates (37 for the four Lok Sabha seats and 25 for the assembly by-elections) went to the polls. Three villages in Churah subdivision of Chamba district boycotted the elections while pressing their demand for road connectivity. According to officials, Kangra parliamentary seat recorded 66.50 per cent polling, Mandi 71.90 per cent, Hamirpur 69.54 per cent and Shimla (SC) seat 70.08 per cent. Of the six assembly constituencies where by-elections were held simultaneously, Dharamshala recorded 66.27 per cent turnout, Lahaul and Spiti 75.09 per cent, Sujanpur 74.10 per cent, Barsar 69 per cent. percent, Gagret 73 percent and Kutlehar 76.20 percent. The voting percentage was 14.35 until 9 a.m., 31.92 until 11 a.m., 48.63 until 1 p.m., 58.41 until 3 p.m. and 66.56 until 5 p.m. At night the rain played a spoilsport role in some places.
The BJP has filed a complaint against Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu with the chief electoral officer of Himachal Pradesh, alleging violation of the model code of conduct. The complaint said that Sukhu wore a scarf of the National Union of Students of India, the student wing of the Congress, while voting in Nadaun, which was objectionable and demanded action against the CM and the election agent. In Churah subdivision of Chamba district, residents of Makhan-Chachul area belonging to Sanval gram panchayat and Juri under Chadra Gram Panchayat boycotted the Lok Sabha elections over road connectivity. “We will not vote until the district administration comes here and listens to our complaints,” said Ravi, a local resident, claiming that although the administration was informed of the problems, nothing has changed. “We are still waiting for internet connectivity, roads and electricity and the situation is so pathetic that if anyone falls ill, we have to transport patients on foot for 4-5 kilometers to reach a health centre,” said Mukesh, another villager. The six assembly seats, where the by-elections are being held, fell vacant after the disqualification of six Congress legislators from the Vidhan Sabha for defying the party whip to vote in favor of the government during the budget.
These MLAs later joined the BJP and were selected from their respective assembly constituencies. BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda was the first to vote at the Vijaypur Anganwadi center in his home Bilaspur district. He was accompanied by his wife Mallika Nadda. Later, the BJP leader met people and had tea at a shop owned by an old friend. Union minister and BJP candidate from Hamirpur Anurag Thakur, accompanied by his father and former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and other family members, cast his vote at Samirpur polling booth in district Hamirpur. Congress candidate from Mandi Lok Sabha seat Vikramaditya Singh, his mother and state party chief Pratibha Singh paid homage at a temple in Rampur before reaching their polling booth to vote. Ranaut also exercised her right to vote, besides BJP state president Rajiv Bindal and opposition leader Jai Ram Thakur. Sukhu and his deputy Mukesh Agnihotri, along with their families, cast their votes in their home constituencies, Nadaun in Hamirpur and Haroli in Una district. Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla and Himachal Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Manish Garg cast their votes in Shimla.
Sukhu said people will give a befitting reply to those who indulge in “buying” of MLAs and trying to topple the elected Congress government in the state. Meanwhile, Bindal said people were supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP would win all four Lok Sabha and six assembly seats. A large number of people, especially women voters, formed long queues outside the voting centres. Elderly citizens, first-time voters and people with disabilities also came to exercise their right. Pyar Singh (105) and Akalveer Negi (90) appealed to voters to exercise their right to vote for a developed nation after casting their votes in Chamba and Rampur in Shimla district. A sick elderly woman, who was receiving oxygen, came to cast her vote at Ghumarwin in Bilaspur district. Adequate deployment of security forces has been made at 7,992 polling stations and two auxiliary polling stations, while 369 polling stations have been identified as critical, according to officials. 57,11,969 voters have the right to vote, including 438 people over 100 years of age.
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