Voting for the crucial elections in Himachal Pradesh began on Saturday. According to reports, initial hours of the polling in the hill state began on a slow note.
As per the Election Commission, HP recorded 55.65 percent voter turnout by 3 pm
Voter turnout was at 37.19 percent by 1 pm, while it stood at 17.98 percent till 11 am in the morning.
A highest polling of 21.92 percent was recorded in Mandi, home district of CM Jairam Thakur till 11 am.
Sirmour district recorded 21.66 per cent polling, Solan 20.28 and Kinnaur 20 per cent, according to the EC. Lahaul and Spiti district recorded the lowest polling of 5 per cent in the first three hours.
Only 4 per cent of voting was recorded in the first hour of polling. However, it picked up pace in the later hours with more voters coming in to cast their votes as the winter chill eased in the state.
Earlier in the morning, PM Modi appealed to the people of Himachal to cast their votes in record numbers. "Today is polling day for all the assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh. I request all the voters of Devbhoomi to participate with full enthusiasm in this festival of democracy and create a new record of voting," Modi tweeted.
As voting began for the Himachal Pradesh polls, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the state will vote for the return of the old pension scheme and employment.
More than 55 lakh voters in the hill state will decide the fate of 412 candidates in 68 assembly constituencies.
"Himachal will vote for OPS, Himachal will vote for employment and Himachal will vote for 'Har Ghar Lakshmi'," Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.
"Come, vote in large numbers, and make your valuable contribution to the progress and prosperous future of Himachal," the former Congress chief said, appealing to the voters of the hill state.
Former Himachal Pradesh CM Prem Kumar Dhumal his son and Union Minister Anurag Thakur along with his family casted their votes. Also BJP chief JP Nadda, Congress MP Anand Sharma, Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh and Himachal CM Jairam Thakur casted their votes.
The polling will continue till 5 pm in all 68 assembly constituencies. A total of 7,881 polling stations have been set up for the polls. The Kangra district has the maximum polling stations.
(With inputs from PTI)
