INDIA VOTES 2024: 1.38 lakh first-time voters in Himachal Pradesh

Tribune News Service

Navneet Rathore

Shimla, March 20

Around 2.46 per cent of the total voters from Himachal Pradesh are set to cast their vote for the first time in the Lok Sabha elections. Most of the first-time voters are students studying in colleges and universities across the state.

As per data from the Himachal Pradesh Election Commission, there are 56,38,422 voters in the state, of which 1,38,918 voters — including 75,001 male,

63,916 female and one voter of third gender — are the first-time voters.

The state goes to polls in the seventh phase on June 1 and the counting of votes will take place on June 4.

Of the four Lok Sabha seats in the state, Mandi, Hamirpur and Kangra fall in general category, while Shimla is reserved for the Scheduled Castes.

The Mandi Parliamentary constituency has the highest number of voters in the age group of 18 to 19 years, while Kangra has the lowest number of the voters between the age of 18 and 19 years. In Mandi, there are around 39,662 first-time voters, while the number in Kangra is 31,422.

The highest number of first-time voters between the age group of 18 and 19 years in the Legislative Assembly Constituency (LAC) is 3,153 which is in Darang under Mandi, followed by Jogindernagar which has around 2,970 voters in the same

age group.

Similarly, there are around 769 voters in the age group of 18 to 19 years in Lahaul and Spiti Assembly Constituency in Mandi Parliamentary constituency, which is the lowest in the state followed by Shimla (Rural) where 876 voters are in the age group of 18 to 19 years.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP dominated in all of the four constituencies as all of its candidates

registered victories with a huge margin.

However, Congress was able to win the Mandi seat in the bypolls that were held in 2021 after the untimely demise of the former MP Ram Swaroop Sharma.

As of now, BJP has fielded four-time MP and Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur from Hamirpur, while the incumbent MP from Shimla Parliamentary Constituency Suresh Kashyap has also been fielded by the party.

While the BJP is yet to decide on its candidates for the rest of the two Parliamentary constituencies, the Congress is yet to name its candidates for all the four constituencies.

Catch them young

2.46% of the total voters are first-timers

75,001 1st-time male voters

63,916 1st-time female voters

1 third gender

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