Himachal Pradesh on Saturday recorded 74.05 per cent voter turnout in assembly elections, according to Election Commission's (EC) provisional figures.
This means that, of Himachal's total 55 lakh registered voters, around 40 lakh voted in the elections to elect the next government.
Himachal witnessed a bipolar contest between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Opposition Congress. The hill-state has a trend of electing a new government after every years. The BJP is seeking to change this "riwaz" [custom] and make history, whereas the Congress is seeking for the continuation of the trend.
In 2017 Himachal assembly elections, the voter turnout was 75.6 per cent.
On Saturday, voting in Himachal began at 8 am on a slow note but picked up as the day progressed and the sun warmed the winter chill. In the first hour, around 5 per cent turnout was recorded, while by 11 am, it was 17.98 per cent. It notched up to 37.19 per cent by 1 pm and 55.65 per cent till 3 pm. Till 5 pm, a 66.58 per cent turnout was recorded, according to provisional figures released at the time.
Voters sealed the fate of 412 candidates, including Chief Minister Jairam Thakur, former CM Virbhadhra Singh's son Vikramaditya Singh, and former BJP chief Satpal Singh Satti, in Himachal's 68 constituencies.
The BJP is counting on its development agenda and the influence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while the Opposition Congress is counting on CM Thakur-led government's alleged corruption and misgovernance.
While Modi led the campaign in Himachal and made a personal appeal towards the end that every vote for BJP in the state strengthens him personally, the Congress relied on Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra with Rahul Gandhi skipping the campaigning entirely as he spearheads the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Besides Modi, BJP president J P Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Smriti Irani, and Anurag Thakur held a series of poll meetings.
For the BJP, a Himachal win would come as a feather in the cap of Modi, who has coined the slogan of "pro-incumbency" in context of the party.
It has also asked voters to change the "riwaaz" by re-electing BJP as the "double engine" regime in the state will continue to work for all round development.
A victory in Himachal would also boost the BJP's chances in the nine state elections due next year, including the all-important Hindi heartland states of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh, and later in the 2024 general elections.
(With PTI inputs)
