Uttarakhand recorded a voter turnout of 68 per cent on Wednesday as the hill state voted to elect members to the 70-member state assembly in an election that is a direct fight between the incumbent Congress and the BJP.
The voting percentage is only slightly higher than the 67.22 per cent voter turnout recorded in the assembly polls in 2012, when the contest was extremely close and the Congress won just one seat more than the BJP to form the government.
Tight security arrangements were in place as voters lined up at the booths to cast their ballot, sealing the fate of 628 candidates in the EVMs. Around 30,000 security personnel were deployed and around 60,000 polling officials were put on the job. There were a total of 10,685 polling booths in the state, with close to 500 of them in the snow-clad higher reaches.
Polling in Karnaprayag constituency has been postponed due to the death of BSP candidate Kuldeep Singh Kanwasi in a road accident.
The elections were preceded by intense electioneering by both the Congress and the BJP, with Chief Minister Harish Rawat campaigning on the issue of the `Uttarakhandhi pride' that he claims has been hurt by the BJP-led Centre, whereas the saffron party has projected Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its mascot for the polls.
Both Modi and CongressVice President Rahul Gandhi addressed rallies in the run-up to the elections, with the polls proving to be a high-stake battle for both the parties. While the Congress would want to win the hill state in an attempt to arrest the downslide that it is experiencing, the BJP is keen to regain prestige after Rawat managed to hold on to power, courtesy the Supreme Court's ruling in his favour following the Centre's imposition of President's rule in the state last year.
The Congress' campaign was centred around Rawat, who was projected as the CM face. Rawat undertook a Uttarakhand Swabhiman Yatra in the last leg of the campaign, projecting himself as the son of the soil who was wronged by a 'power hungry' central government.
BJP did not have a CM face in these elections. The party's campaign was focused on alleged corruption in the Rawat government, and its message to the people was that since the party is in power at the centre, it is better placed to solve the problems of the people if elected to power in the state.
The saffron party, despite having five former chief ministers in its fold, was not able to project any of them in this election. While it was felt that none of them matched the persona of Rawat, the BJP was also keen that infighting should not hamper its chances.
Both the parties have had to grapple with dissidence, and are dealing with the scenario of rebels contesting as independents.
