LS polls: 56.55 pc voter turnout till 4 in Himachal Pradesh

An estimated voter turnout of 56.55 per cent was recorded till 4 pm on Sunday in four parliamentary constituencies across Himachal Pradesh where over 50 lakh voters are likely to cast their votes in the last phase of Lok Sabha election.

According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), of the four Lok Sabha seats, the voting percentage was the highest in Shimla (56.87 per cent), followed by Hamirpur (56.79 per cent), Mandi (56.64 per cent), and Kangra (53.75 per cent).

Three-time MP Anurag Thakur contesting from Hamirpur seat is one of the bigwigs whose fate will be decided in the election today.

With the polling underway, two bridegrooms discharged their constitutional right by casting their votes at the polling booth number 93 in Kullu and booth number 8 in Manali.

Polling is currently underway in the seventh phase for 13 seats each in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, nine in West Bengal, eight seats each in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, all four constituencies in Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand and one seat in the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

A total of 918 candidates including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, are in the fray to test their destiny in the last phase. Polling began at 7 am in 59 parliamentary constituencies spread over seven states and the Union Territory of Chandigarh and will continue till 6 pm.

The counting of votes will take place on May 23.