M A I N   N E W S

U’khand sees 10% surge in turnout
Neena Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 7
Over 62 per cent voters cast their votes to seal the fate of 74 candidates in fray for the five Lok Sabha seats amid tight security in Uttarakhand today. Sources put the overall turnout percentage at 62.75 (till 6 pm), indicating a 10 per cent increase from the 2009 General Election.

The highest turnout of 76 per cent was recorded in Haridwar district. It was followed by UdhamSingh Nagar (72 per cent), Nainital (63 per cent) and Dehradun (62 per cent). Tehri district recorded the lowest voter turnout of 51 per cent.

Uttarakhand Chief Electoral Officer Radha Raturi said, “The turnout has been high despite the fact that a large number of people employed outside the state could not come to cast their votes. Champawat, Tehri and Almora districts have also shown marked improvement this time. More than half of the male population of these districts is employed outside the state.” The overall turnout figure was likely to change as several polling parties would be able to return only by tomorrow, she added. The polling began on a brisk note in the morning and long queues of voters were seen at various polling stations.