Haldwani: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday claimed people supporting Congress in the hill state "did not turn up" during the recently held Lok Sabha elections in the state, leading to a significant dip in the overall turnout.
Dhami even claimed that all those who arrived at the polling booths had voted "only for BJP". All five parliamentary seats in Uttarakhand went to polls on April 19 in phase 1 of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. The state recorded a meagre turnout of around 54 per cent, a drop of more than six per cent compared to the 2019 general elections when the turnout was 61.88 per cent.
Of the 21 states and Union Territories that went to the polls in the first phase, Uttarakhand ranked 19th in terms of voting percentage. The Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar seat recorded the highest voter turnout of 59.99 per cent, followed by Haridwar 59.12 per cent, Tehri Garhwal 51.74 per cent, Pauri Garhwal 49.93 per cent and Almora 45.39 per cent.
On Congress's claim of victory, the Uttarakhand Chief Minister said BJP would register a "thumping victory" across all five seats when the results are declared on June 4. Dhami claimed that candidates who were supposed to get tickets from the Congress did not get them.
He also said he was confident of Prime Minister Narendra Modi coming to power for the third time. "Citizens of this country are voting with enthusiasm for PM Modi to reelect him. There is a wave of BJP across the country," he added.
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