Polling begins for 4 Lok Sabha seats, 6 assembly by-elections in Himachal

Shimla: Polling for four Lok Sabha seats and six assembly by-elections began across Himachal on Saturday morning. As many as 62 candidates, including 37 for Lok Sabha and 25 for assembly by-elections, are in the fray.

Prominent leaders whose fate will be sealed in these elections include Anurag Thakur (BJP), Anand Sharma (Congress), Bollywood actor Kangna Ranaut (BJP), Vikramaditya Singh (Congress) and sitting BJP MP from Shimla (SC) Suresh Kashyap.

Polling is being held for four Lok Sabha seats -- Hamirpur, Mandi, Kangra and Shimla -- besides by-elections for six assembly constituencies of Sujanpur, Dharamshala, Lahaul and Spiti, Barsar, Gagret and Kutlehar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president J P Nadda, Union minister Nitin Gadkari, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi addressed rallies in support of their candidates during the election campaign.

Severe heatwave conditions in lower hills and plains with mercury breaching the 46-degree mark at some places is a cause of concern, and political parties and candidates are apprehensive about voter turnout.

The campaign witnessed a new low in the state as political leaders used indecent language and made personal attacks.

The Congress focused its attack on "discrimination" with the state during last year's monsoon disaster and alleged the BJP attempted to topple its state government.

The BJP, which is banking on Ram Mandir (in Ayodhya) and PM Modi's achievements, made the Congress government's "failure" to fulfil poll guarantees the main issue.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu dubbed Congress rebels ''bikau" (sold out) and "kale nag" (black snakes), and called upon voters to "punish" the rebels, while BJP candidate from Mandi Ranaut termed Rahul Gandhi and her rival candidate Vikramaditya Singh "bada Pappu and Chota Pappu and bigde shezada".

Besides holding big rallies, leaders also held corner meetings, especially in the constituencies where assembly by-elections are being held simultaneously.

Adequate deployment of security forces has been made at 7,992 polling booths and two auxiliary polling stations while 369 polling booths have been identified as critical.

The polling, which started at 7.00 am, will end at 6.00 pm. As many as 57,11,969 voters, including 438 voters above the age of 100 years, are eligible to vote.

The voter turnout in Himachal Pradesh was 80.1 per cent in 2019 and Mandi had recorded the highest polling at 82.3 per cent, followed by Kangra 80.9 per cent and Hamirpur and Shimla (SC) 79.9 per cent.