Nearly 23 per cent polling in Uttarakhand till 1300 hrs

Dehradun, Feb 21 (UNI) An estimated 23 per cent of nearly 60,00,000 voters in Uttarakhand exercised their franchise till 1300 hrs today in the elections to 69 Assembly seats and the bypoll to Tehri Lok Sabha seat.

Polling was going on peacefully amid tight security arrangements, Assistant Chief Election Officer Jangvijay Singh said.

People started queuing up at polling booths since early morning.

Governor Sudarshan Agarwal cast his vote as soon as the polling began at 0800 hrs.

Voting was affected at some places due to malfunctioning of EVMs.

However, it was rectified immediately. People were also seen complaining of their names missing from the voters list despite having Photo Identity Cards at polling booths in Thailisen, Haridwar, Manglar and Mussoorie.

Former Chief Minister and BJP candidate from Laxman Chowk Nityanand Swami, too, had to struggle hard to cast his vote due to EVM malfunction. However, it was immediately rectified.

UNI