The hill state of Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday recorded its best voter turnout in a decade with 66 per cent voting. Weather did not play spoilsport and voters, even those from farflung interiors, came out in large numbers to exercise their franchise.
In the 2009 general elections, the voter turnout was a little over 58 per cent, while it was 59.71 per cent in the 2004 parliamentary elections. All four constituencies of Himachal — Hamirpur, Mandi, Kangra and Shimla — witnessed a tough contest.
Former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal’s son Anurag Thakur and Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh’s wife Pratibha were contesting from Hamirpur and Mandi respectively, while old BJP warhorse Shanta Kumar tried his luck from Kangra.
Conducting elections in Himachal has always been a tough job for the Election Commission, given the mountainous and forested topography of the state. In some areas, election officials had to walk up to 20 km to deliver EVMs.