23.78 per cent voter turnout in U'khand by 11 am

Polling in Uttarakhand's five Lok Sabha seats saw 23.78 per cent voter turnout by 11 am with people queuing up since early morning to exercise their franchise, an official said.

The fate of 52 candidates will be decided by over 78 lakh voters of the state, where all the five seats -- Tehri, Pauri, Haridwar, Almora and Nainital -- are being held by the BJP.

The saffron party is locked in straight contests with the Congress on all seats.

Polling began at 7 am and 23.78 per cent voter turnout was recorded by 11 am, Chief Electoral Officer Saujanya said.

High-profile candidates in the fray are ex-chief minister Harish Rawat who takes on state BJP chief Ajay Bhatt in Nainital, ex-CM Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank who faces Congress's Ambrish Kumar in Haridwar, BJP national secretary Tirath Singh Rawat is up against B C Khanduri's son Manish in Pauri and sitting MPs Ajay Tamta (Lok Sabha) and Pradeep Tamta (Rajya Sabha) in Almora.