55 per cent polling in Uttaranchal

An estimated 55 per cent of the 60 lakh electorates exercised their franchise in 69 assembly constituencies of Uttaranchal that went to polls on Wednesday amid tight security.

Earlier in the day, long queues were witnessed at several polling booths in the state capital with women also lining up to cast their vote. Governor Sudershan Agarwal and wife Usha were among the first to cast their ballots as the polling started at 0800 hours.

Polling concluded peacefully in areas in the higher Himalayan region of the state, which were lashed by heavy snowfall during the past fortnight.

Election to the Bajpur assembly seat has been deferred following the death of Congress candidate Janak Raj Sharma.

A general alert had been sounded in the state following a threat perception by terrorist and Naxal activities. All borders with Nepal, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Tibet were sealed, sources said, adding that some 75,000 polling personnel, including 65 companies of Central paramilitary forces had been deployed across the state.

A total of 7,491 polling stations had been set up with 1,200 being declared as sensitive and hyper-sensitive, Chief Electoral Officer N Ravishanker said.