Polling ended on Wednesday on 69 out of 70 assembly constituencies spread over 13 districts in Uttarakhand, where around 74.20 lakh voters will decide the fate of 628 candidates.
Polling in Karnaprayag seat has been put off to March 9 following the death of BSP candidate Kuldeep Singh Kanwasi in a road accident on Sunday.
Congress and BJP are locked in a straight contest in most of the seats but the presence of about a dozen rebel candidates in the fray as independents and the saffron party fielding former Congressmen may upset the calculations.
A total of 30,000 security personnel including 105 companies of central armed police force, 25 companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary, Uttarakhand police and the homeguards have been deployed. For the first time voter verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines will be used in these elections in Uttarakhand.
Here are the highlights:
#6.40PM
68% voting recorded till 5pm
#3.45pm
53% voter turnout recorded till 3pm
#3:16 PM
: 40 per cent voting till 1 PM-PTI
#14:15 PM
Voter turnout recorded till 1 pm in 2nd phase of : Bijnor-40.88%, Pilibhit-40.83%, Rampur-40.20%, Saharanpur-47.00%-ANI
#14:15 PM
Election Commission clarifies on voting percentage, Uttarakhand 1 pm voting percentage is 39%
#14:00 PM
30.12% voting in Uttarakhand till 1 pm
#12:07 PM
22% voter turnout recorded in Uttarakhand till 11 AM.-ANI
#11:45 AM
14 per cent polling recorded till 10 AM.-PTI
#9:25 AM
6% polling percentage recorded in the first hour of the Uttarakhand polls.-ANI
#8:02 AM
Voting for 69 of a total of 70 assembly seats in Uttarakhand barring Karnaprayag begins.-ANI
# 7:00 AM
Voting to begin in 67 constituencies in Uttarakhand.
#6:40 AM
Voting in the Karnaprayag seat remains postponed, to be held on March 9 as the BSP candidate Kuldeep Kanvasi was killed in a road accident.-ANI
#6:30 AM
69 of a total of 70 assembly seats barring Karnaprayag to go to polls in the single phase assembly elections in Uttarakhand today-ANI
Important details about Uttarakhand Elections
# Total Assembly Constituencies: 69 (Karnaprayag will got poll later)
# Date of Polling: February 15 (Single Phase)
# Total Electorate: 74.20 lakh
# Major Parties & Alliance
- Congress
- BJP
# 2012 Assembly Election Results:
- Congress: 32 Seats
- BJP: 31 Seats
- Others: 7 Seats
Congress and BJP face-off
Uttarakhand is facing a direct battle between Congress and BJP. While incumbent Congress chief minister Harish Rawat holds a lot of political clout in the state, campaign for this election has been rough for him as many of his sitting MLAs revolted after they were not allotted seats or desired seats.
To sway any chances of losing the state, Harish Rawat has gone all out to woo voters by holding several public meetings and roadshows on daily basis in perhaps the most crucial election of his career.
Rahul held two public meetings in Rishikesh and Someshwar besides a 75-km roadshow in Haridwar district which has the maximum number of 11 constituencies in Uttarakhand.
The BJP has been attacking the ruling parties in both the states over corruption. Modi raised the issue of demonetisation and surgical strikes repeatedly at his rallies.
Congress and Samajwadi Party have in turn accused Modi of failing to deliver on his promises and causing suffering to the common man with note ban.
All eyes on Haridwar Rural
However, the most crucial fight in Wednesday’s UK Polls will be at Hardiwar rural seat, as CM Rawat will look to dethrone BJP legislator Swami Yatishwaranand.
Rawat is banking on 30% Muslim voters and 15% Dalits in the constituency to defeat the sitting BJP MLA and swing the state in favour of Congress. The Haridwar Lok Sabha seat has 14 assembly segments, of which Congress won only three in the 2012 polls.
The importance of Haridwar, bordering Uttar Pradesh, can be gauged from the fact that both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi visited the religious city to galvanise voters.
The chief minister is also contesting from Kicha, an assembly segment in his native Kumaon.
Counting of votes will take place on March 11.
(With inputs from PTI)
Assembly Elections 2017: Full Coverage
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Live | Assembly Elections 2017: Voting begins on 69 seats in Uttarakhand and 67 seats in UP Polls Phase 2; litmus test for Modi, Akhilesh and Rawat
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