Email
Print
ShareShimla: An estimated 68% voting was recorded in by-polls to two assembly seats of Rohroo and Jawali in Himachal Pradesh today.
The voting concluded peacefully and no untoward incident was reported from anywhere in the two constituencies in Shimla and Kangra district respectively, chiefelectoral officer Anil Kumar Khachi said in a statement.
By-polls to the two seats were necessitated following the resignation of Union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh and BJP MP from Kangra Rajan Sushant. Singh represented the Rohroo seat, which includes his erstwhile Bushare royalty for the past 19 years, before moving to Delhi.
Four candidates each are in fray from the two seats. The results of the by-polls are seen as yet another round of political battle between Union minister Virbhadra Singh and Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal.
Great enthusiasm was seen among voters who travelled from difficult geographical areas to exercise their vote. 112 year-old Geeta Devi cast her vote at Nangal polling station in Jawali seat while the oldest voter in Rohroo constituency was 109 year-old Sunpati of Parsa village, state election office sources said.
Rohroo has a total of 70,416 voters while Jawali has 75,541. Approximately, 83% voting was recorded in polling booth at Pandar where voters had to trek 20 km from the nearest motorable road.
Around 78%polling was recorded at Jaiskoon and at Shiladesh while Junglikh registered 74% and Haunchali 80 per cent in remote areas of Dodra Kawar in Rohroo constituency, state election office sources said.
Virbhadra Singh and his former MP wife Pratibha Singh, who was denied a Congress ticket for Rohroo by-poll, did not vote as they had left for the national capital on November 5 after the campaigning ended.
While Congress fielded a greenhorn Manjit Singh Thakur in Rohroo, the BJP expressed faith in old hand Khushiram Balnatah, who had been loosing to Singh since 1990.
At Jawali former state minister Sujan Singh Pathania of Congress is taking on BJP's low profile Chaudhary Baldev Raj. Rajan Sushant's elder brother Madan Sharma rebelled against the BJP and is contesting as an independent making the fight tough.
