78% voter turnout recorded in Himachal gram panchayat elections

Around 78 per cent voters cast their vote in the first phase of elections to the Panchayati Raj Institutions in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday.

The total polling percentage is likely to change slightly after the final reports come in from all districts.

Of the total 3,754 gram panchayats, voting was held in 1,293 gram panchayats. Each voter cast five votes, one each for panchayat ward member, vice-pradhan, pradhan, panchayat samiti and zila parishad member. While results for the gram panchayat elections were announced immediately after the polling, the results of panchayat samiti and zila parishad will be announced on May 31.

Women voters turned up in higher numbers than their male counterparts. In 10 of the 12 districts, women voters outnumbered the male voters. Kullu district saw the highest voter turnout with over 84 per cent voters casting their votes. The lowest voter turnout was witnessed in Lahaul and Spiti at around 69 per cent.

While the polling was largely smooth and without any untoward incident, a few stray incidents of scuffle and polling-related irregularities were reported from a few places. A minor scuffle was witnessed at one of the polling stations in Haroli in Una. Besides, polling in one of wards in gram panchayat Narain, in Rampur sub-division in Shimla, will have to be conducted again as a “NOTA” stamp was “mistakenly” used by some voters against the name of their preferred candidate. “We have informed the State Election Commission of the lapse and urged it to hold a re-poll in the ward on May 28. In the other six wards of the panchayat, the polling was conducted without any problem,” said Harsh Amrender Singh, SDM, Rampur.