Uttarakhand polls have been completed in one phase on Monday. Long queues were seen outside the polling booths.
On Monday, 14 February 2022, the Fifth Vidhan Sabha Elections in the Hilly state of Uttarakhand commenced from 8’O clock in the morning. Elections were held according to the COVID-19 Guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India. Voting was done in one phase for 70 seats all around the state.
Polls took place in 11 Thousand 632 polling booths. The official voting list contained 81 lakh 72 lakh 173 voters, out of which 42 lakh 38 thousand 890 are male voters, 39 lakh 32 thousand 995 are female voters, and 228 other voters. This year, the total number of service voters is 94 thousand 471 service voters in which 91 thousand 869 are males, and 2602 are females.
Today, nearly 81 lakh people decided the political future of 632 candidates from different political parties in Uttarakhand. All women booths ‘Sakhi’, run by women, has been set up in the state for the first time. Other than this, six polling booths have been set up for differently-abled people.
On Monday, there were long queues outside the polling booths. From youths to elders, all generations were present there to use the most powerful tool in a democracy, their vote. When asked, people said they would be casting votes based on work done by the previous government on employment generation, medical facilities, and infrastructural development. According to the data, Uttarakhand’s economy has fallen under the BJP government.
In 2016-17, the unemployment rate was 1.61%, which in 2020-21, increased to 10.99%.
After casting his vote, Uttarakhand’s Governor Lt Gen (retd.) Gurmit Singh spoke to media agency ANI and said, “I’d like to appeal to everyone to use their voting rights; voting turnout should be 100%. The elections are being held in a proper, unbiased manner.”
According to the Election Commission of India, 5.15% of eligible voters cast their votes till 9 AM. The voter turnout as of 11 AM was 18.97%. At 1 PM, it was 35.1%. At 3 PM, voter turnout was reported to be 49.24%. Till 5’O Clock in the evening, the state recorded a voter turnout of 59.37 %.
The voting closed at 6’O Clock in the evening. The voting turnout as of 5 PM in different districts is as follows-
1.Almora- 50.65%
2.Bageshwar- 57.83%
3.Chamoli- 59%
4.Champawat- 56.97%
5.Dehradun- 52.93%
6.Haridwar- 67.58%
7.Nainital- 63.12%
8.Pauri Garwal- 51.93%
9.Pithoragarh- 57.19%
10.Rudraprayag- 60.36%
11.Tehri Garwal- 52.66%
12.Udham Singh Nagar- 65.13%
13.Uttarkashi- 65.55%
Although Uttarakhand is known for the contest between Congress and BJP but this year Aam Aadmi Party has a strong debut in the state. Therefore, AAP is expected to take some share of their votes. BJP claims to get more than 60 seats, whereas Congress is expecting a comeback In the hills with 45+ seats.
In the 2017 Vidhan Sabha Elections, BJP got 57 seats, INC got 11 seats, and independent candidates won 02 seats.
Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh and became a state on 9 November 2000. Since its formation, the politics of this hilly state has been highly volatile. The state has seen four legislative Assembly Elections and 10 Chief Ministers due to political instability in the last 21 years. Only one Chief Minister, Nityanand Swami of the Indian National Congress, has completed the entire tenure of five years.
Pushkar Singh Dhami and Col (retd.) Ajay Kothiyal are CM faces of BJP and AAP respectively. Congress is expected to be led by Harish Rawat. The results will be announced on 10 March 2022. Will the 5th Legislative Assembly elections give Uttarakhand a stable government and one CM for five years? This remains to be seen in the future.
Published By – Pawan Rajput
Edited By – Mahi Gupta
