Voting in Himachal Pradesh ends, 74% turnout recorded
Shimla, Nov 9 (IBNS): The voting for Himachal Pradesh assembly election has ended with a turnout of 74% of voters, media reports said.
Voting began at 8 a.m. and concluded at 5 p.m. on Thursday.
Una district has recorded its highest voting at 67.09 percent till 4 pm, The Indian Express reported.
In the Thursday election, 50,25,941 voters are eligible to cast their vote.
As many as 7,525 polling booths were set up in the state and 37,605 polling personnel deputed for poll duty, according to media reports.
17,850 police personnel and Home Guards, as well as 65 companies of central paramilitary force were deployed, media reported.
The poll is witnessing heavyweights from both the BJP and the Congress battling it out for supremacy in the state.
Six-time chief minister Virbhadra Singh, 83, a prime Congress contestant, is the oldest candidate; his 27-year-old son Vikramaditya has also made his poll debut.
The octogenarian is likely to retain his position if his party is elected to power.
The junior Singh has been handed Simla (Rural), which originally belonged to his father, to battle it out against BJP's Pramod Sharma, a Virbhadra protege.
Two-time former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, the BJP's chief ministerial candidate is contesting from Sujanpur.
The 73-year-old is pitted against Congress' Rajinder Rana, who is in his home turf and has already won the 2012 elections from the same seat.
Party-wise, both the BJP and the Congress, have fielded 68 candidates each, while BSP has fielded 42 candidates, followed by CPM with 14.
The CPI, NCP and the SP have fielded 3, 2 and 2 candidates, respectively.
The independent candidate count is 112.
The poll count will take place on Dec. 18.
Images: twitter.com/DhumalHP, twitter.com/virbhadrasingh
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