With the elections results in Uttarakhand portending a razor-edge difference between victory and defeat, postal ballots could play a crucial role in as many as 20 constituencies in the hill state where elections were held on January 30.
This time, over 1.19 lakh people — mainly comprising the armed and paramilitary forces as well as polling personnel — are casting their votes through ballot papers. The process will continue till 8 am of March 6, when the counting of votes takes place, said Saujanya, a top official with the state election commission. Since the time period between the polling and the counting is very long, the commission is expecting the voting percentage of the postal ballots to go above 80 to 90 per cent.
Senior Congress leader Satpal Maharaj, who is one of the main contenders for the post of chief minister, has asked the election commission to appoint separate observers for counting of postal ballots. "We apprehend that there may be illegal postal ballots," Maharaj said in a letter to the poll body. "So the commission must appoint all those observers who have thorough knowledge of the postal ballot procedures."
In the past, the Congress had alleged that postal ballots had marred the chances of their candidates —including that of Maharaj in the 2008 Pauri Lok Sabha by-election.
Political observers believe the contest in at least 10 to 15 seats is going to be "very close" between the main parties like the Congress and the BJP. The rebels playing spoilsport for party candidates has sparked even more curiosity to the contest.
The BJP has dismissed the Congress' apprehensions as merely "fear factor". A spokesperson of the of ruling party said the Congress knew his party was better placed. "So they are enacting a new drama," he said.
The BJP has, in this election, projected chief minister B C Khanduri as its next chief minister. Khanduri, who is a retired major general of the army, will give the party the advantage of winning the favour of a large number of ex-servicemen as well as serving servicemen in the state, according to his party.
