E-Paper
Peaceful polling on in Uttarakhand
Chief Election Officer says no violence or disruptive activities have been reported, reports Utpal Parashar.
Apart from one stray incident of stone pelting between supporters of two political parties and resentment among voters who have failed to cast their ballot despite possessing photo identity cards, polling has been peaceful in Uttarakhand.
According to reports from across the state, nearly 35 per cent voters had cast their votes till 2.00 pm. Poll officials expect the figure to go up to over 50 per cent in the final three hours of polling.
"There was an incident of stone pelting between supporters of two political parties in Kiccha area of Rudrapur seat. No one was injured and those miscreants were dispersed by security personnel," said Udham Singh Nagar District Magistrate, GK Dwivedi.
In the hill districts of Pithoragarh and Champawat, 30 per cent voters had reached polling booths and cast their votes in the first six hours. The figure was 35 per cent in Udham Singh Nagar district.
"Voters are turning out in large numbers because of clear skies and a lovely weather. We expect the polling percentage during this election to be higher than 2002," said PS Gusain, District Magistrate (Champawat).
District Magistrate (Tehri) Sanjay Kumar informed that apart from initial problems with four of the total 664 EVMs there has been no problem of any sort and 35 per cent polling had taken place till 2.00 pm.
Apart from six assembly seats, voters in the district are also casting their ballots for the Tehri Lok Sabha by-election. The seat had fallen vacant after the death of sitting BJP MP Maharaja Manvendra Shah.
Among the plain districts, Haridwar recorded a high polling percentage of 47 till 2.00 pm. District Magistrate RK Sudhanshu stated that although one person was shot dead by unidentified assailants, it was not poll-related.
Nearly 25 per cent of total voters had cast their ballot till 1.00 pm in Dehradun. District Magistrate Rakesh Kumar stated that apart from delay in start of polling in five booths due to problems in starting EVMs, polling has been hassle-free.
Poll officials across the state admitted to have received complaints from voters that despite possessing photo identity cards issued by Election Commission, their names were missing from voter lists.
"The number of such complaints is very few and would not have any impact of final results," said Kumar. Pithoragarh District Magistrate Anil Kumar Negi stated that only 15-20 such complaints had been received from his district.
