Dehradun. Voting began at 8 am on Monday for the election of 70 seats in the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly (Uttrakhand Assembly Polls 2022), where more than 82 lakh voters of the state will capture the fate of 632 candidates in EVMs. State Director General of Police Ashok Kumar said that tight security arrangements have been made for fair and peaceful elections.
Sowjanya, Chief Electoral Officer of Uttarakhand said that voters will be able to exercise their franchise till 6 pm in the state. He said, “I have a humble request to all the voters that they must exercise their franchise. Every vote is priceless in a democracy.”
Preparations underway ahead of voting for the #UttarakhandElections2022, Visuals from Khalsa National Balika Inter College, Haldwani
Voting for the Uttarakhand Assembly elections will start at 8 am. pic.twitter.com/qkCMqgwNX0
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) February 14, 2022
Sowjanya informed that in view of COVID-19, gloves and hand sanitisers have been made available for using EVMs at all polling stations to prevent the spread of the pandemic. He also appealed to the voters to follow social distancing and adopt covid compliant behavior including wearing masks.
Due to the third wave of corona virus epidemic, initially the election campaign in the state was limited to public relations only, but it is a matter of relief that now the number of infection cases has come down. Like the last four assembly elections in Uttarakhand, which were held nearly 21 years ago, this time too there is a possibility of a tough fight between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress in most of the seats. However, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has tried to make the contest triangular in many seats by fielding its candidates in 70 seats.
Apart from this, the regional political party Uttarakhand Kranti Dal is also making its presence felt by contesting 48 seats. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) have also fielded their candidates in plains like Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar. From the BJP side, the responsibility of the party is mainly on the shoulders of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who has been touring the entire state for the last fortnight. Dhami, who is dreaming of winning from Khatima for the third time in a row, is up against Bhuvan Chandra Kapri, who is the working president of the state unit of Congress.
On the other hand, Congress General Secretary and former Chief Minister Harish Rawat is trying his luck this time from Lalkuan, where he is pitted against BJP’s Mohan Bisht and rebel Congress candidate Sandhya Dalakoti. BJP state unit president Madan Kaushik is in the fray from Haridwar city and Congress state unit president Ganesh Godiyal from Srinagar Garhwal seat. Apart from this, Aam Aadmi Party’s candidate for Chief Minister’s post Col. Ajay Kothiyal is contesting from Gangotri seat. The challenge before the BJP, which won a historic victory by unexpectedly winning 57 seats in the last 2017 assembly elections, is not only to save its credibility but it is also embroiled in a tough fight with the Congress.
Political analysts believe that the election can be reversed in any direction. A total of 8,624 polling stations have been set up in the state. Apart from this, there are 11,697 polling places. The number of Adarsh booths with all facilities in the state is 150, while the number of Sakhi booths with full deployment of women is 100. The polling booth with the maximum number of 1,248 voters is Nagla Imarti in Khanpur assembly seat in Haridwar district and Garhi Negi booth in Jaspur assembly seat of Udham Singh Nagar district, while the polling station with the lowest number of voters is Dhikala booth in Kotdwar assembly seat, where only There are 14 voters.