The Hindu                29.04.2013

61 per cent voting in Uttarakhand civic polls

Sixty-one per cent of the electorate exercised their franchise in Uttarakhand local bodies elections on Sunday, sealing the fate of 3,753 candidates for six municipal corporations, 28 municipal boards and 35 nagar panchayats. Polling was peaceful.

(A PTI report, quoting State Election Commissioner Harish Chandra Joshi said, till the conclusion of polling at 5 p.m., 70 per cent people had cast their votes.)

There was a steady stream of voters to the polling booths in the morning and queues could be seen again after 3.00 p.m.

Many complained that their names were not on the voter list or had been wrongly spelt. A notable victim was Samajwadi Party State president Sachan.

Among those who voted early was the former Chief Minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. He voted at the Hatibarkala Central School at 8.00 a.m. Swami Ramdev voted at Kankhal in Haridwar.

The presiding officer of booth number 15 in ward eight of Bajpur in Udham Singh Nagar district was beaten up by voters for allegedly casting fake votes. He was handed over to the police. Minor incidents were reported from Roorkee, Pithoragarh and Sultanpur.