Byelections in Himachal Pradesh record 69% turn out

SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh chief electoral officer (CEO) Devesh Kumar said here that overall poll percentage stood at around 69 in byelections in Dharamshala and Pachhad assembly constituencies.


He said 65.38% polling in Dharamshala and around 72.85% polling was registered in Pachhad. He said no untoward incidents were reported either in Dharamshala or Pachhad, he said.

He thanked the people of both the ACs for their turning up in large numbers.

While there are five candidates in the fray in Dharamshala, the figure is seven for Pachhad. The main contest is between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress in the two seats. While the BJP has fielded Vishal Nehria from Dharamshala and Reena Kashyap from Pachhad, Congress has fielded Vijay Inder Karan from Dharamshala and Gangu Ram Musafir from Pachhad. In both the seats, the remaining candidates are independents.

In Pachhad, an assembly seat in Sirmaur district, the day began slowly and not many voters turned up early on.

Meanwhile, the Congress on Monday once again accused the BJP of violating model code of conduct. It claimed that the party used a dummy electronic voting machine (EVM) within 200 metres of a polling station. In a complaint it submitted to the subdivisional magistrate (civil) of Rajgarh, the Congress alleged that BJP workers at Gadasar polling station also threatened voters.

A video also went viral during the day in which a woman could seen crying and Congress workers questioning the use of a dummy EVM and party flags by BJP workers. After controversy erupted, the district administration reached the polling station and shifted the BJP booth to prescribed distance.