LS polls: U'khand to cast votes at over 11,000 polling booths on Apr 19

The Lok Sabha elections for all five Lok Sabha seats in Uttarakhand are scheduled to take place in a single phase on April 19 and to increase voter turnout in the hill state over 11,000 polling booths are being set up across the state.

Additional Chief Electoral Officer Vijay Kumar Jogdande said, "A total of 11,729 polling booths are being set up in the state for the Lok Sabha elections, where around 75,62,830 voters are likely to exercise their right to vote."

He further said that various facilities will be provided to Persons with Disabilities (PwD) at these booths.

Around 51,373 people have downloaded the 'Saksham' app. 1,623 people have requested 'doli' and 2,437 people have requested wheelchairs via this application, he informed.

"Apart from this, the availability of 3,392 magnifying glasses has been ensured by the Social Welfare Department. 208 vehicles have been arranged in all the districts. These vehicles will bring PwD voters to polling booths and drop them off at their homes," the poll official added.

"Around 14,032 assistants will be available at these polling stations, who will provide various assistance to the voters. Braille-based ballot papers and directories are also being made available at every booth at the time of voting. 13,480 Braille-based ballot papers have been made available," Jogdande further said.

The poll official further said that 505 voters associated with essential services registered to vote by postal ballot. So far, 247 have voted. Those who have registered can cast their votes till April 16.

Notably, among the 543 Lok Sabha seats, Uttarakhand contributes just five seats.

The BJP has fielded Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah, Anil Baluni, Ajay Tamta, Ajay Bhatt, and Trivendra Singh Rawat for these seats.

Uttarakhand has been a hotly contested terrain for the BJP and Congress. Earlier in the 2014 and 2019 general elections, the ruling BJP-led NDA clinched victory across all Lok Sabha constituencies.