Himachal records 68 per cent polling in Lok Sabha and 69 per cent in Assembly by-poll till 5:30 PM

SHIMLA: Despite Election Commission making every effort to increase polling percentage, Himachal Pradesh on Saturday recorded less polling in the Lok Sabha elections compared to 2019 as around 68 percent polling was recorded till 5.30 pm. The by-elections in 6 Assembly seats of state recorded around 69 percent polling. In 2019, 72.42% polling was recorded. In the state polling was conducted in a peaceful manner with no violation of law and order reported.
Irrespective of the hot weather conditions in the lower parts of Himachal, the polling picked up early in morning which was about 31.92 percent for the Parliamentary elections by 11 am which rose to 48.63 percent by 1 pm.The poll percentage picked up in the evening and by 5 pm it was 66.56 percent.
At World’s highest polling station, Tashigang in Spiti valley of Lahaul-Spiti district,79.03 polling was recorded. Of the total 62 registered voters, 49 exercised their electoral franchise while 13 voters who were out of the valley could not reach to vote.
During voting, different colours of voting emerged from across the state. The enthusiasm about voting was high among everyone, whether young or old. Some reached the polling booth riding on pony; some came directly from the hospital with oxygen cylinders to vote while some on palanquin carried by people.
Banarasi Das, a resident of Jubbal-Kotkhai in Shimla district, reached the Jhalta polling booth under Jubbal-Kotkhai Assembly constituency riding on a pony to cast his vote. Bimla Sharma (72), admitted to the hospital in Bilaspur and was on oxygen support, reached the Chawri polling booth under Ghumarwin Assembly seat with an oxygen cylinder.
In Chamba, 105-years-old Pyar Singh walked upto the Hatnala polling booth to cast his vote while in Bharmaur a voter who was unable to walk was carried on a palanquin by his relatives to the Supa polling booth of Bharmaur assembly constituency.
According to the information received till 5:30 pm, the highest 73.8 percent voting was recorded in Lahaul-Spiti district followed by 71.3 percent in Kullu district while the lowest 65 percent voting was recorded in Chamba and Kangra district respectively. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Maneesh Garg said that the final figures of voting percentage will be released only after the return of all the polling parties and scrutiny of documents. He said that according to the information received so far, about 68 percent voting was recorded till 5.30 pm for Lok Sabha whereas around 69 percent was for bye-polls.
He said that apart from the voting in the state, about 41,924 voters above 85 years of age, PwD and essential services voters have already cast their votes through postal ballot (PB), other than employees on election duty which will add about one percent to the overall voter turnout.
A total of 7,992 polling stations were set up in the state for about 56.45 lakh voters excluding service voters. Apart from this, there are a total of 66, 390 service voters in Himachal. A total of 37 candidates were in the fray for parliamentary constituencies while 25 are contesting for assembly bye-elections including a total of four women. Out of which three women candidates were contesting for parliamentary constituencies while one is in fray for assembly bye-election. There are a maximum 12 candidates contesting for Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat while only five candidates contesting from Shimla Lok Sabha seat.
CEO said that for real time monitoring of the entire polling process, 4885 polling stations were covered through live webcasting, which was being continuously monitored through control rooms established at the state, district and assembly constituency levels. In the state, 195 polling stations were managed by women, 28 by PwD and 54 were youth managed. He informed that apart from this, 280 model polling stations were set up.
Along with this, arrangements for creches for small children were also made in many districts viz Hamirpur, Una, Chamba, Kinnaur. Apart from this, in the lower areas, arrangements were made for tents in the polling booths to protect from heat, as well as ORS solution, health kits etc for the voters, he added.
He said that due to elaborate security arrangements done by State Election Department under the guidance of ECI, no untoward incident was reported in the State. He said that even in far-flung areas, people reached for voting at their respective polling stations with great zeal.