58.9% polling for Shimla MC, counting tomorrow

Shimla, May 2

Even as rain played spoilsport, 58.97 per cent voters turned up at polling booths to elect councillors for 34 wards of the Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) here today.

The voter turnout remained marginally higher than the 2017 MC elections when 57.8 per cent electors had cast their votes.

The overall voting percentage in this election for male and female voters stood at 59.29 and 58.60, respectively. There are 102 candidates in the fray. The Congress and the BJP have fielded candidates from all 34 wards. The counting of votes will take place on May 4. The drizzle continued till around 3 pm, otherwise the voter turnout would have been even higher, sources said. “The voting went off peacefully. The EVMs malfunctioned at 2-3 wards, but those were promptly replaced,” said Aditya Negi, DC, Shimla.

After a slow initial start, the polling picked up pace after 10 am. The polling percentage stood at 29 at noon and 43.6 at 2 pm.

Bhattakufer ward recorded the highest voter turnout of 74.9 per cent. The only other ward to record more than 70 per cent voter turnout was Upper Dhalli (71.3 per cent). The lowest voting was recorded in Panthaghati ward (46.8 per cent).

Earlier in the day, CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu cast his vote at Chotta Shimla. He was accompanied by his wife and two daughters. “I had been a councillor from this ward… it feels nice to come back here to cast vote for your councillor,” he said. He hoped the work his government had done over the past four months would fetch people’s vote and support for Congress candidates.

Former minister Suresh Bhardwaj also cast his vote in Chotta Shimla. He said the people had made up their mind to vote for the BJP after seeing the present government’s flip-flop over the guarantees made before the Assembly elections.

Former Union Minister Anand Sharma, who especially came from Delhi for the MC elections, cast his vote in Bharari ward. “People gave a mandate to the Congress in the Assembly elections and I am sure we will have their vote and support in the MC elections as well,” he said.

Poll vignettes

Name of septuagenarian missing

A 70-year-old woman from Kasumpti went to two different polling booths looking for her name but she couldn’t find it. Even as it was raining, Vijay Laxmi flipped the pages of the voters’ list frantically, but failed to trace her name. Her patience ran out when she was told to look for her name at the third booth and she went home disappointed.

Sukhu’s teacher casts votes

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s school teacher, an 82-year-old Savitri Devi, showed up to cast her vote. “Vote is our right as well as responsibility,” she said. When asked about her student rising to the post of Chief Minister, she said it was a great feeling that a student taught by her has become the Chief Minister of the state.

CM goes down memory lane

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu headed to a small sweet shop for a cup of tea with his wife and others after casting his vote. It’s the same shop where he would spend time gossiping and having sweets during his college days. While having a cup of tea, the Chief Minister recalled the old times and his favourite sweets he used to have at this shop.

Chief Minister vs Bhardwaj!

With the Chief Minister casting vote in Chotta Shimla ward and campaigning for Congress candidate Surender Chauhan, the contest became quite tough for the BJP candidate Sanjeev Chauhan. To his credit, he sounded upbeat. “If they have Chief Minister on their side, four-time MLA Suresh Bhardwaj is on my side,” he said, turning the contest into CM vs Bhardwaj.

War of words

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Suresh Bhardwaj had a war of words on the polling day. Bhardwaj said Sukhu should not have cast his vote in MC elections as he had exercised his right to vote at Nadaun in the Assembly elections. Sukhu responded by saying that a person can cast vote in MC and panchayat elections where he resides! — Subhash Rajta