Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections: Highest voter turnout recorded at 74%
Congress leader and incumbent Himachal Pradesh CM Virbhadra Singh is contesting against BJP's Prem Kumar Dhumal
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Chamba: Women voters in a queue show their voter identity card as they wait to cast their vote at a polling booth in Chamba on Thursday. PTI Photo
Himachal Pradesh on Thursday recorded its highest polling in assembly elections with 74 per cent of voters exercising their franchise, the Election Commission said today.
The figure was till 5 pm and the final polling percentage may be revised as final voting figures are yet to be tallied.
Polling was still on in about 500 booths.
The previous highest polling percentage of 73.5 was recorded in the 2012 assembly polls, Deputy Election Commissioner Sandeep Saxena said. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, it was 64.45 per cent. At a press conference, Saxena said the elections were peaceful and no incident of violence was reported.
A total of 11,283 VVPAT units were used in all polling booths of the 68 constituencies out of which 297 were replaced, Saxena said, adding this was well within the technical limits. Earlier, a total of 64.8 per cent polling was recorded till 4 pm and 54.09 per cent till 2 pm.
The voting for the polls began at 8 am today and continued till 5 pm in the evening.
The BJP (Bharatiya Janta Party) which was focused on corruption during its campaign, is seeking to dislodge the Virbhadra Singh-led Congress government while deflecting attacks by rivals on demonetisation and GST (goods and services tax).
The polling took place at 7,525 booths with EVMs (electronic voting machines) and VVPAT machines (voter verifiable paper audit trail) being used for the first time in this Vidhan Sabha Election.
The figure was till 5 pm and the final polling percentage may be revised as final voting figures are yet to be tallied.
Polling was still on in about 500 booths.
The previous highest polling percentage of 73.5 was recorded in the 2012 assembly polls, Deputy Election Commissioner Sandeep Saxena said. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, it was 64.45 per cent. At a press conference, Saxena said the elections were peaceful and no incident of violence was reported.
A total of 11,283 VVPAT units were used in all polling booths of the 68 constituencies out of which 297 were replaced, Saxena said, adding this was well within the technical limits. Earlier, a total of 64.8 per cent polling was recorded till 4 pm and 54.09 per cent till 2 pm.
The voting for the polls began at 8 am today and continued till 5 pm in the evening.
The BJP (Bharatiya Janta Party) which was focused on corruption during its campaign, is seeking to dislodge the Virbhadra Singh-led Congress government while deflecting attacks by rivals on demonetisation and GST (goods and services tax).
The polling took place at 7,525 booths with EVMs (electronic voting machines) and VVPAT machines (voter verifiable paper audit trail) being used for the first time in this Vidhan Sabha Election.