9,000 Tibetans eligible to vote in Himachal polls

After Bylakuppe in Karnataka, McLeodganj in Himachal Pradesh has a huge number of Tibetan refugees in India.

For the November 9 elections in the hill state, nearly 1,000 Tibetans have registered themselves with the Election Commission. They are likely to cast their vote in large numbers on Thursday.

For the first time, Tibetan refugees were given voting rights in February 2014, ahead of the general elections.

But the number of registered voters are far less than those who are eligible to vote.

Those born in India between 1950 and 1987 are eligible to register themselves in the electoral rolls.

Going by this, there are about 9,000 Tibetans who would be eligible to vote in the ensuing elections.

McLeodganj is the capital of the Tibetan government-in-exile. At least three divisions, including the Dege division in Bir Billing, have large numbers of registered voters.