Over 35 per cent polling recorded in U'khand till 1 pm

Over 35 per cent polling was recorded till 1 pm on Monday in Uttarakhand where voting is underway in 70 assembly seats spread over 13 districts, officials said here.

Long queues of voters were seen outside polling booths as polling began at 8 am amid strict adherence to Covid protocol. Voters were allowed to cast their votes only after wearing gloves.

By 1 pm, 35.21 per cent polling was recorded in the state, Election Commission officials here said.

Uttarkashi recorded the highest turnout till 1 pm with 40.12 per cent polling followed by Almora with 30.37 per cent.

The voter turnout was 32.55 per cent in Bageshwar, 33.82 per cent in Chamoli, 34.66 per cent in Champawat, 34.45 per cent in Dehradun, 38.83 per cent in Haridwar, 37.41 per cent in Nainital, 31.59 per cent in Pauri Garhwal, 29.68 per cent in Pithoragarh, 34.82 per cent in Rudraprayag, 32.59 per cent in Tehri and 37.17 per cent in Udham Singh Nagar district.

Uttarakhand Governor Lt Gen (retd) Gurmit Singh, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, former chief ministers Trivendra Singh Rawat and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Aam Aadmi Party's chief ministerial candidate Col (retd) Ajay Kothiyal, Pradesh Congress president Ganesh Godiyal, Leader of Opposition in the fourth assembly Pritam Singh, Yoga guru Ramdev, and Niranjani Akhara Mahamandaleshwar Kailashanand Brahmachari were among the first to cast their votes.

Dhami cast his vote in Khatima, Trivendra and Nishank in in Dehradun, Kothiyal in Uttarkashi and Ramdev at a polling booth in Kankhal in Haridwar.

Talking to reporters after casting his vote Ramdev appealed to people to come out in large numbers to exercise their right to franchise. He also asked them to rise above caste, creed and religious considerations to vote for a strong nation and its interests.

On the ongoing hijab controversy, Ramdev said Asaduddin Owaisi was living in the 18th century.

"These are minor things when compared to national interest which is paramount. People should reject political, intellectual and religious terrorism and vote for the country," he said.

This is the fifth assembly polls being held in the politically volatile hill state since its creation in 2000.

A public holiday has been declared by the administration for the single-day polling in the state.

The ruling BJP is seeking a consecutive second term in office in the state while the Congress is trying to make a comeback after being routed at the hands of the BJP in the 2017 assembly polls.

The Aam Aadmi Party, which has also thrown its hat in the ring, has declared Kothiyal as its chief ministerial candidate.

A total of 81,72173 voters in the state are eligible to decide the fate of 632 candidates in the fray including 152 independents in these elections.

As many as 11,697 polling booths spread over 8,624 locations have been set up.

For the first time, 101 all-women 'Sakhi' polling booths run by women have been set up in the state to encourage participation of women in the polling process.

Similarly, six polling booths to be manned by differently abled persons have also been set up, she said.

Prominent candidates whose fate is to be decided in these polls include chief minister Dhami, his cabinet colleagues Satpal Maharaj, Subodh Uniyal, Arvind Pandey, Dhan Singh Rawat and Rekha Arya besides state BJP president Madan Kaushik.

Noted faces from the Congress in the fray include former chief minister Harish Rawat, former minister Yashpal Arya, Godiyal and Pritam Singh.