Dehradun: Voting in the high-voltage single-phase Uttarakhand Assembly elections will take place today with 70 assembly constituencies spread over 13 districts going to polls. 81 lakh voters are all set to decide the fate of 632 candidates, including 152 independents, in the fray. Polling will begin at 8 am and conclude at 6 pm today.
Electioneering which was carried out aggressively by the political parties through virtual as well as physical rallies and door-to-door campaigns in the state came to an end on Saturday evening. The counting of the votes will be on March 10. There are a total of 81,72,173 voters in the state and 11,697 polling booths spread over 8,624 locations, according to Chief Electoral Officer (CEO)Saujanya, who does not use a surname.
For the first time, 101 all-women polling booths named 'Sakhi' polling booths have been set up in the state. All polling officials at these booths will be women, the CEO said, adding this has been done to encourage women's participation in the polling process. Similarly, six polling booths to be manned by persons with disabilities have also been set up, she said. The presiding officers and polling personnel at such booths will be differently-abled.
The voters have to carry a valid identity proof, preferably their Electors Photo Identification Card (EPIC), to cast their vote. Some of the other valid identity cards one can carry to cast his or her vote include Aadhaar, MNREGA job card, photo passbook issued by banks, post offices, Driving Licence, PAN Card, Smart Card issued by RGI under NPR, Indian Passport, and Pension document with photo. The entire election process will be completed under the supervision of paramilitary forces and the entire voting process will be videographed.
In the 2017 Assembly polls, the BJP won 57 seats out of 70. The BJP is trying to reverse the trend that the government changes every five years in Uttarakhand by winning two successive polls. It will be the fifth assembly election to be held in Uttarakhand after its creation in 2000. The government has also declared a holiday today to ensure all are able to cast their vote.
List of constituencies
Can changing CM's prove costly?
Uttarakhand assembly elections will throw interesting results as the hill state has seen three chief ministers since March 2021 and overall 11 chief ministers in the two decades since the formation of the state. There is a funny saying in the state that by the time people remember their CM's name in Uttarakhand, he is already replaced by a new face. On March 10, 2021, BJP replaced Trivendra Singh Rawat with Tirath Singh Rawat as the CM. Three months later, Rawat was replaced by Pushkar Singh Dhami.
The elections being held to form the fifth government in Uttarakhand are in a way issueless. The Congress party is in the fray to form the government with the leadership and face of Harish Rawat though it brought both Priyanka and Rahul to the state. The BJP is trying to stay in power with the help of Narendra Modi and his speeches and campaigns. Similarly, the Aam Aadmi Party is fighting for its place in the state mainly on the basis of Kejriwal's name and his Delhi freebies.
The anti-incumbency wave in Uttarakhand is quite strong. Be it having three Chief Ministers or poor performance in delivering employment, the anger against the BJP government is visible on the ground. While that may better Congress' chances of a victory, the vehement campaigning by PM Modi and other BJP bigwigs in the state will show its impact. Overall, Congress has stuck to local and public issues, while BJP banks on its usual themes of Hindutva and nationalism.
Read: 'Uttarakhand voters have to choose between religion, progress'
At present, the current CM Pushkar Singh Dhami is at the forefront of BJP's chief minister face for the state. After taking over as the third CM of the present government in July 2021, Dhami has been on a continuous tour of the state. All the leaders including PM Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP National President Jaiprakash Nadda have patted his back. However, there are other contenders as well, including former CM Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, former CM Trivendra Rawat, Rajya Sabha MP Anil Baluni and cabinet minister Satpal Maharaj.
As for Congress, former CM Harish Rawat and leader of Opposition Pritam Singh are in the race. Though yesterday (Sunday), Rawat said that nobody in the party had any objections to his name as the Chief Ministerial candidate. On the issue of him not being announced as the Chief Ministerial candidate unlike Punjab, Rawat said it was "a strategic matter". "I do politics of struggle, not power. The party has told me that the election campaign will be led by me. We are fighting to win the elections. Nobody in the party has any objections to my name as the Chief Ministerial candidate. No party member has expressed any objection to my name," he said.
Brahmin-Thakur equation
Ever since Uttarakhand became a state, both Congress and BJP have blinked to a 'Thakur' or a 'Brahmin' as their choice for the post of Chief Minister. Irrespective of the elections in the state, no matter how much the equations have changed, power has always remained in the hands of a Thakur or a Brahmin. The reason for this is also quite simple. In this hilly state, there are 35 per cent Thakurs and 25 per cent Brahmin voters. In every election, parties, as such, try to benefit from this equation.
Key seats and candidates
The political fate of several BJP heavyweights, including Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and state unit president Madan Kaushik will be decided in the Uttarakhand Assembly polls today. Luck of other ministers in the Dhami cabinet will also be decided today. Chief Minister Dhami is trying his fortune for another term and this time from Khatima. Four-time MLA and state BJP president Kaushik is contesting from Haridwar. Minister Dhan Singh Rawat is contesting from Srinagar against state Congress president Ganesh Godiyal.
Criminal background
Out of 632 candidates contesting in today's assembly polls in Uttarakhand, 105 candidates have criminal cases registered against them, as disclosed by the Election Commission recently. The information has come to the fore after all the political parties fielding candidates with criminal cases uploaded the details of such persons on their website, as required of them according to the rules of the Election Commission and under the orders of the Supreme Court.
The figure of the criminal count in the election fray has increased this time as compared to the last assembly polls. In the 2017 assembly elections, 92 out of 630 candidates had criminal backgrounds. Out of these 105 candidates, 22 belong to Congress, 25 are contesting independently, 13 are from the BJP, 11 from BSP, 6 from the Samajwadi Party and 7 candidates are from the UKD.
Security bandobast
Security has been beefed up in the state ahead of today's polls. Uttarakhand Director general of police (DGP) Ashok Kumar said that the state police have done all the arrangements. “Uttarakhand Police has done all arrangements for the Assembly polls. 16,000 officers of civil police and armed police of the state are ready. Special forces have been deployed to the polling booths in sensitive areas on the day of voting,” DGP Kumar said.
List of ECI observers
The Chief Election Commission has asked its observers to be visible, accessible, neutral, and ethical while functioning as the eyes and ears of the Election Commission. The designated observers are expected to ensure that a level-playing field is maintained for all political parties and candidates. Officers drawn from IAS, IPS, IRS, and other accounts services across the country are deployed as general, police, and expenditure observers.
Here is the list of observers for today's phase of Uttarakhand Assembly elections:
