Campaigning ends as Uttarakhand readies for Feb 15 polls

The campaigning in elections to the Uttarakhand state assembly ended on Monday evening.

Candidates in the state assembly polls will be allowed to do door-to-door canvassing till Wednesday, the polling day for the 69 assembly constituencies.

Voting in one seat -- Karnaprayag -- has been countermanded following the death of a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate.

"The Election Commission is committed to holding a fair and free polls in the state and we urge people to come out and vote in large numbers," state's Chief Electoral Officer Radha Raturi said.

Security personnel conducted flag march in all the 11 districts of the state to ensure that no untoward incident takes place during, before or after the polls, an official said.

Despite inclement weather in the hilly tracts, especially after heavy snowfall in the past week, polling parties have reached polling stations.

The Congress government in the state headed by Chief Minister Harish Rawat is facing a stiff challenge from main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Many senior Congress leaders have crossed over to the BJP and with many rebels in the fray, problems for the ruling party have only increased.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Ministers Smriti Irani, V.K. Singh, Nitin Gadkari and many others have campaigned for the BJP while Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi has held the fort for the Congress.

The Gandhi scion held a 75-km roadshow on Sunday.

--IANS

md/vt