Uttarakhand Elections: 68% Voter Turnout Till 5 PM
Catch all the live updates on Uttarakhand polls with The Quint.
- Over 68 percent voter turnout was recorded till 5 pm
Polling began for 69 of total 70 seats in Uttarakhand on Wednesday morning
Voting in the Karnaprayag seat has been postponed to 9 March in view of the death of the BSP candidate in a road accident
Representatives from Russia, Egypt, Bangladesh, Namibia and Kyrgystan are in Uttarakhand to witness the elections
Voter Turnout Till 5 pm
Around 68 percent polling was witnessed in the Uttarakhand assembly elections on Wednesday, bettering the voting percentage of the past two state polls, officials said.
"The 68 percent is better than the 66 percent recorded in 2012 and 64 percent in 2007," a poll official said.
This is the fourth assembly polls in the state where 7.5 million voters decided the fate of 628 candidates.
Rs 3.38 cash was seized along with 1.01 lakh litre liquor and 1.9 kg drugs.
40% Voter Turnout Recorded Till 1 pm
Uttarakhand records polling percentage of 40 percent till 1 pm. Voting for 69 seats kicked off at 8 am.
Haridwar at 47 percent, Uttarkashi at 45 percent, Udhamsingh Nagar at 43 percent and Nainital at 42 percent were among districts that have recorded the highest polling so far.
Chief Minister Harish Rawat Casts His Vote
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat, who is contesting elections from two seats in the state, votes in Dharampur.
22% Voter Turnout Till 11 am
Uttarakhand records polling percentage of 22% till 11 am. Voting for 69 seats kicked off at 8am.
Baba Ramdev Urges Voters to Participate
Yoga guru Ramdev cast his vote in Haridwar. He urged voters to come out and exercise their right. Action should be taken against the people who don’t vote, he said.
6% Turnout Till 9 am
Uttarakhand recorded a voting percentage of 6% throughout the state in the first hour of polling.
Political Leaders Cast Their Votes
Uttarakhand's former chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal votes with her daughter at the Hathi Badkala polling station.
Bharatiya Janata Party's Uttarakhand president Ajay Bhatt casts his vote at polling booth number 130 in Ranikhet.
Congress candidate and current MLA from Haldwani, Indira Hridyesh has cast her vote with her family in Haldwani.
Chief Electoral Officer Radha Raturi votes at the Government Girls Inter College in Dehradun's Kishanpur.
People Come Out to Vote in Dehradun
As polling began in Uttarakhand on Wednesday morning, people queue up to cast their vote in Dehradun's Hathi Barkala.
PM Modi Urges People to Vote
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted before the start of polling in Uttarakhand and urged people to come out in large numbers to vote.
Representatives From Countries Witness Elections
Representatives from five countries have arrived in India to witness the assembly elections in Uttarakhand slated for Wednesday, the Election Commission said on Tuesday.
A group of 13 persons including heads and representatives of election management bodies (EMBs) from Russia, Egypt, Bangladesh, Namibia and Kyrgystan will watch the polling on Wednesday.
"The delegates have already been briefed by the EC on different facets of election management in India and main features of poll preparedness in the ongoing assembly elections," an official said.
Uttarakhand to Vote for 69 Seats
Polling for 69 of the 70 Vidhan Sabha seats in the hill state of Uttarakhand will be held on Wednesday in a single phase.
Voting in the Karnaprayag seat remains postponed, to be held on 9 March as the BSP candidate Kuldeep Kanvasi was killed in a road accident.
Stakes are high for both the ruling Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the crucial assembly polls.
While the BJP is accusing the Congress Chief Minister Harish Rawat of turning 'Devbhoomi' (land of gods) into 'loot bhoomi' (land of looters), the Congress is claiming that BJP makes tall promises and that people of Uttarakhand will reject the appeals by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Key Stats for Uttarakhand Polls
Both Modi and Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi have run an extensive campaign in the hill state trying to woo the 75 lakh plus voters in favour of their candidates.
Voting in the Karnaprayag seat has been postponed to 9 March as the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Kuldeep Kanvasi died in an accident during canvassing. On request of the party leadership, the poll panel decided to hold the elections on 9 March.
The BSP has been given time till 20 February to file a fresh nomination, scrutiny would be done of 21 February and date of withdrawal is also the same date.
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