Voter turnout in Goa 75%, 59% in Uttarakhand till 5 pm

Over 75% and 59% of the voters turned out till 5 pm on Monday to exercise their franchise to elect the new legislative assemblies in Goa and Uttarakhand respectively.

All the 40 and 70 assembly constituencies in Goa and Uttarakhand went to the polls in one go, the Election Commission also conducted voting in 55 of the 403 assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh on the same day. Over 60% of voters cast votes in the second phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh, where the EC decided to conduct voting in seven phases.

The EC stated in New Delhi that it had laid great emphasis on ensuring proper arrangements at the polling stations. The voters set an example by adhering to the Covid-19 safety due protocols during voting, said the commission.

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Altogether 301 candidates were in the fray for the 40 assembly seats in Goa, while 632 contested for the 70 in Uttarakhand. The 55 constituencies, which went to the polls in the second phase of voting in Uttar Pradesh, had altogether 586 candidates.

The EC had set up 23404 polling stations for the 2.02 crore voters in the 55 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, 11697 polling stations for the 81.72 lakh voters in Uttarakhand and 301 polling stations for 11.64 lakh voters in Goa. The number of polling stations increased in order to bring down the number of voters in each from 1500 to 1250 in order to ensure adherence to social distancing norms to avoid a surge in the SARS-CoV-2 infections.

The 2.95 crore total voters in the three states included over five lakh first-timers, the EC stated.

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Kunal, the Chief Electoral Officer of Goa, tweeted that the state recorded 75.29% turn-out till 5 p.m. The CEO of Uttar Pradesh, Ajay Kumar Shukla, stated that 60.44% of the registered voters cast votes till 5 p.m. in the 55 constituencies, which went to the polls in the northern state in the second phase. Sowjanya, the CEO in Uttarakhand, tweeted that 59.37% turnout was recorded in the state till 5 p.m.

The poll officials in Dehradun, Lucknow and Panaji said that the turn-out percentage would go up further when updated reports from all the polling stations would reach the respective state capitals.

The Congress, led by Digambar Kamat, and its ally Goa Forward Party are the main challengers to the ruling BJP, led by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, in Goa. The Trinamool Congress, which tied up with the Maharashtravadi Gomantak Party, and the Aam Aadmi Party are also trying to expand their footprints in the coastal state, in addition to the Nationalist Congress Party and the Shiv Sena.

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The ruling BJP is being led by its young Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in Uttarakhand, where the opposition Congress is relying on its veteran leader Harish Rawat.

The BJP, which is in power in Uttar Pradesh, had in 2017 won 38 of the 55 seats that went to the polls in the second phase of voting on Monday. The Samajwadi Party, which is the principal challenger to the BJP in the state, had secured 15, while two had gone to the Congress.

The SP and Congress are not contesting the assembly elections together this year, unlike in 2017.

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