Heavy snow mars electioneering in Uttarakhand

Ahead of the January 30 assembly polls, Uttarakhand today experienced another round of heavy snowfall bringing in a fresh cold wave in the hill state that also marred the process of electioneering.

Ahead of the January 30 assembly polls, Uttarakhand on Sunday experienced another round of heavy snowfall bringing in a fresh cold wave in the hill state that also marred the process of electioneering.

Higher reaches of several areas in Garhwal and Kumaon regions experienced heavy snowfall and the plains were lashed by intermittent rains, the meteorological office said.

The higher reaches in Chamoli, Uttarkashi and Bageshwar districts were experiencing heavy snowfall since morning.

The cold wave has given a setback to candidates who were unable to hold rallies with people mostly remaining indoors.

The fresh cold wave has led to demands from various political parties to postpone elections by at least another fortnight.

"We are demanding that the elections should be postponed for nearly 15 days," said a state BJP spokesman.

Congress however said it would not oppose any postponement of elections and would honour any decision taken by the Election Commission.

"In case elections are postponed, we will honour the decision," a Congress spokesperson said.

Significantly, chief minister BC Khanduri has earlier voiced his concern over the prevailing harsh winter conditions in the state and had asked the election commission to postpone elections.

However, a top official of the state election commission said the election will be held as per the schedule.