Himachal assembly polls: 37.19 per cent voting recorded till 1 pm

Himachal Pradesh, where the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress are locked in an aggressive direct fight, recorded a voter turnout of 37.

Shimla recorded a voter turnout of 19 per cent in the first five hours till 1 pm on Saturday, the Election Commission said.

The voting commenced on a tardy note and gradually picked up pace as the sun came up in the hill state where the BJP is eyeing history by repeating its government, while the Congress is urging voters to go by the tradition of voting out the incumbent government.

Polling will continue till 5 pm in all 68 assembly constituencies.

The voting started on a slow note with only around 5 per cent polling recorded in the first hour.

Till 11 am, 19.98 per cent of polling was recorded. At 1 pm, the state recorded 37.19 per cent.

The highest polling of 41.89 per cent was recorded in the Sirmour district, followed by 41.17 per cent in Mandi, the home district of Chief Minister Jairam Thakur.

The high altitude district of Lahaul and Spiti recorded the lowest of 21.95 per cent while Chamba saw 28.35 per cent voting till 1 pm.

Anni constituency in Kullu recorded a polling of 46.04 per cent, Barsar 45.49 per cent, Jubbal Kotkhai 46.07 per cent, Theog 46 per cent and Rohru constituency recorded a turnout of 46.70 per cent.

The lowest turnout of 21 per cent was recorded in the Bhoranj constituency, Rampur with 21.09 per cent and 21.95 per cent in the Lahaul Spiti assembly constituency so far.

Top leaders, including Chief Minister Thakur, voted in Mandi along with his wife and daughters after offering prayers at a local temple.

Himachal Congress chief Pratibha Singh and her son Vikramaditya Singh voted in Rampur. Earlier in the day, they offered prayers at the Shani temple in Shimla.

Former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, his son and Union Minister Anurag Thakur voted in Hamirpur along with other family members.

Former Union minister Anand Sharma voted in Shimla while CLP leader Mukesh Agnihotri and his family voted in Haroli, from where he is contesting.

BJP President J P Nadda voted along with family members in Bilaspur, while former chief minister Shanta Kumar also cast his vote.

In an early morning message to voters, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged them to enthusiastically participate in the “festival of democracy” and register a voting record.

In a tweet, Modi also greeted young voters who will be exercising their franchise for the first time.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur on Saturday urged voters to come out in big numbers and enthusiastically participate in the “festival of democracy”.

He said every vote will help build a prosperous Himachal Pradesh.

“First vote, then refreshments. Dear fellow state residents, today is the day of voting. My humble request to all voters of Himachal Pradesh is to participate in this festival of democracy with full enthusiasm,” he said in a tweet in Hindi.

“Vote in huge numbers, your one vote will help build a prosperous Himachal,” he added.

Thakur addressed the prime minister in a separate tweet and said there was a lot of enthusiasm among voters.

“Certainly, according to your call, voters in the state will create a new record by participating in the polling and are going to create a new ‘riwaaz’ (trend).

Warm greetings to you,” Thakur, who voted in Mandi with his wife and daughters in Mandi after offering prayers at a temple,” said in Hindi.

“We are confident of the BJP’s grand victory. We are getting good feedback,” he told reporters in Mandi from where he is contesting.

His colleague, former BJP chief Satpal Singh Satti, is trying his luck from Una.

Enthusing voters to back the Congress, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi also asked them to turn out in large numbers and make their contribution in the progress and prosperous future of the state.

“Himachal will vote for OPS (old pension scheme), Himachal will vote for employment, Himachal will vote for ‘Har Ghar Lakshmi’,” he said in a tweet in Hindi.

If the ruling BJP is hoping for an encore on the back of its development agenda, the opposition Congress, desperate to wrest the state back from the BJP after multiple electoral losses and losing nine states in two years, is appealing to voters to go by the four-decade tradition of voting out incumbents in the state.

The grand old party has made a host of promises, including Rs 1,500 to all women every month under the ‘Har Ghar Lakshmi’ scheme, 300 units of free power and five lakh jobs in the next five years.

It has also promised Rs 680-crore StartUp fund.

The saffron party has promised implementation of the Uniform Civil Code and eight lakh jobs in the state, besides scooties for college-going girls and cycles to school girls belonging to weaker sections.

More than 55 lakh voters in the state will decide the fate of 412 candidates in this high stakes political battle.

These include Vikramaditya Singh, son of former chief minister Virbhadhra Singh and state Congress chief Pratibha Singh who is contesting from Shimla Rural.

He and his mother prayed at the Shani temple in Shimla before casting their votes.

Pratibha Singh urged voters to come out in large numbers and bring Congress to power.

Twenty-four women candidates are in the fray this time.

Of the total voters, 28,54,945 are male and 27,37,845 are female voters.

Modi has led the campaign from the front for the BJP, wrapping up his canvassing with a personal appeal to voters of the state, saying that every vote cast for the BJP symbol “lotus” will enhance his strength.

It has also asked voters to change the “riwaaz” by re-electing the BJP, saying the “double engine” regime will continue to work for all-round development.

The Congress has backed principally on Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is the new entrant in Himachal and is contesting in 67 of 68 seats, has been fairly quiet as the contest shaped up as a direct one between the BJP and the Congress in line with past trends.

Voting began after poll officials conducted a mock drill at all booths to check EVMs.

“Nearly 50,000 polling staff and around 25,000 security staff have been deployed,” Himachal Pradesh’s Chief Electoral Officer Maneesh Garg told PTI.

The Election Commission has set up 7,884 polling stations, including three auxiliary voting stations in far-flung areas.

Of these, 789 are vulnerable booths and 397 critical ones.

The highest booth is in Tashigang, Kaza in Spiti area of Lahaul Spiti district at a height of 15,256 feet. It will cater to 52 voters.