Udham Singh Nagar (Uttarakhand) [India], April 19 : As voting for the Lok Sabha elections began on Friday, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami appealed to the people to vote in large numbers and choose a good government.
Urging the people to prioritize their right to vote, CM Dhami said, "Pehle Matdaan Phir Jalpaan'. Today is the mega festival of democracy. I appeal to everyone to cast their votes and choose a good government. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has seen new heights in the last 10 years and our country has got global recognition. PM Modi wants to create a strong India and a strong Uttarakhand".
Meanwhile, former Chief Minister and BJP candidate from Haridwar seat Trivendra Singh Rawat cast his vote along with his family at DAV School Defence Colony Dehradun polling booth.
Polling for Uttarakhand's five Lok Sabha seats is underway, with the BJP hoping to retain all five seats for the third time and the Congress attempting to reclaim lost momentum in the state.
Uttarakhand has traditionally witnessed a close contest between the BJP and Congress. Both parties see the state as an essential battleground for displaying and gaining supporters for their national narratives.
In Uttarakhand, the BJP had won all the Lok Sabha seats in the elections in both the 2014 and 2019 elections. With 47 out of 70 assembly seats, the BJP dominated in the 2022 assembly polls, while Congress got 19 seats. BSP and Independents hold 2 seats each.
This election, to be conducted from April 19 to June 1, is set to be the second longest polling exercise in the country's electoral history after the first general election, which was held over five months between September 1951 and February 1952.
The last general elections in 2019 were also held in seven phases.
A total of 102 constituencies across 21 states and Union Territories will vote in the first phase today. Vote counting will be done on June 4.
Those voting in the first phase include seats in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhatisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry.