Uttarakhand: Polling for 70 Assembly seats begins

Dehradun, Feb 14 (UNI) Uttarakhand began voting to elect representatives of all the 70 Assembly constituencies in the mountainous state. Polling began at 8 am and will continue till 6 pm. For the first time due to Covid-19 outbreak, voters above the age of 80 and those with disabilities have been given the option of postal ballots. A total of 81,72,173 voters are eligible to decide the electoral fate of 632 candidates in these elections. There are also 35 migrant voters, as per poll panel. Special arrangements have been made for the differently-abled, pregnant women and senior citizens. BJP, Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party have fielded candidates in all the 70 seats of the state. Ever since Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh, the hilly state has given mandates alternatively to the Congress and the BJP. There has also been instability due to frequent changes of chief ministers. There have been 11 CMs in Uttarakhand in the past 20 years. While the Congress expects to cash in on anti-incumbency, the AAP is trying to find a foothold in the state. Several BJP and Congress leaders are contesting as Independents after failing to get tickets from their respective parties, making the contest exciting