Poanta Sahib/Nahan, December 19
With the sun shining bright and rain gods taking a break, the day seemed “specially crafted” for the elections. And so it turned out here in Sirmaur, where around 3 lakh voters exercised their franchise at 445 booths to take the polling percentage to 77.

It, however, settled wee bit below the percentage of 79 recorded in the 2003 elections. To begin with, the reticent Sirmauri voter would have never imagined being videographed. But today, voters at 12 polling booths out of 445 in the district were filmed through the day lest they should misrepresent themselves as in the past.

Besides, 26 micro observers - all Central Government employees working directly under election observers - had been stationed at 26 booths, that have a previous history of excessive voting in favour of a particular party candidate, exceptionally low or high polling percentage or dual voting. Both videography and micro-observing happened in the state’s history for the first time.

Except at Shillai, where polling had to be withheld for some time during the day as voters did not have EPIC cards, the process ran smoothly and peacefully elsewhere. After a dry start at 10 am, polling picked up in the afternoon to reach its zenith around 5 pm.

Polling percentage at Pachhad and Poanta-Doon was the highest, crossing 80 per cent mark. They were at the top last time also, with Poanta recording 82 per cent polling and Pachhad 79.

The voters at Nahan also kept their old reputation by recording 78 per cent polling against 78.21 per cent last time. Shillai, however, registered a dip this time as its poll percentage slipped from 77.41 in 2003 to 72.5 this time. At Shillai and Poanta, six micro-observers each had been posted to keep a watch on sensitive booths. Unlike election observers, who moved around, the micro-observers remained stationed at booths from 7 am to 7 pm when the polling ended.

Among micro-observed booths in the district were Kota and Raast in Renuka, Palio and Aunkhadri in Nahan and Rajgarh, Nora and Drang at Pachhad.

Solan, December 19
Having begun on a dull rate, the district witnessed a voting percentage of almost 70 per cent with the Arki constituency registering the highest voter turnout of more than 75 per cent at certain booths.

The polling however remained peaceful with the district administration managing to scuttle any attempt of disruption to peaceful polling especially in the 52 hypersensitive and 68 sensitive booths of the district especially those located on the bordering industrial areas of Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh.

Though the cold weather conditions kept the voters at home in the morning with the Kasauli constituency registering barely 18 per cent voter turn over till noon though it rose to 48 per cent two hours later. The situation in other four constituencies being 21, 33, 35 and 31 per cent in Solan, Doon, Nalagarh and Arki constituencies by noon today. Voting picked up in the afternoon with each constituency showing voter turnover between 35 to 51 per cent.

Much enthusiasm was seen amongst senior citizens, women and youth, who turned up in large numbers to exercise their franchise. While the oldest voter Veer Singh, 109, undergoing treatment at Leprosy Hospital Mandodhar, was among the first to cast his vote in the specially set up lepers polling booth at Mandodhar in the Kasauli constituency, 10 others cast their votes from the hospital premises for the first time.

Voters belonging to ward number seven in Solan, however rued that their names had been deleted despite the fact that they had cast their votes for the 2004 parliamentary polls. D.Kumar, a voter, who found his name missing said it was unfortunate that they couldn’t cast their mandate. Others rued that either names of their family members were missing in totality or some names had been deliberately found erased from the voter lists of ward number seven.

Local MLA Rajiv Bindal said with a view to influence voters some government employees were found sitting as polling agents of the ruling Congress. One such employee Kishen Bedi, who was working as a SSA in the state electricity department, was seen acting as a polling agent of the Congress in the Solan constituency. He said a suitable complaint had been launched with the officials in this regard.

Apart from a minor incident of electronic voting machines developing a minor snag at Nalagarh, the polling remained smooth, confirmed officials.

Dharamsala, December 19
Although there was a great enthusiasm among women in exercising their franchise in all 16 assembly constituencies of the Kangra district but overall there were reports of less voting as compared to the last assembly polls.

This time, the total polling percentage in the district was 68.06 per cent while in the 2003 elections the poll percentage was 75.61 per cent.

The constituency wise polling percentage is Dharamsala (71.19 per cent), Shahpur (70.70 per cent), Kangra (62.64 per cent), Nagrota Bagwan (64.16 per cent), Sullah (67 per cent), Thural (65 per cent), Rajgir (65 per cent), Baijnath (65 per cent), Palampur (66 per cent), Jwalamukhi (68 per cent), Jaswan (65 per cent), Pragpur (68 per cent) Gangath (69 per cent), Nurpur 77 per cent), Guler (68 per cent) and Jawali (73 per cent). Thus, the maximum polling was reported from Nurpur constituency while the lowest from Kangra constituency. Thus, the maximum polling was reported from Nurpur constituency while the lowest from Kangra constituency.

Kangra CD B.K. Aggarwal said the polling at some stations continued even after 5pm as people had gathered before time to caste their votes. 

Hamirpur, December 19
Total 67.49 per cent polling was recorded in the five assembly constituencies of the district today.

The highest 71 per cent votes out of total 65,391 votes were cast in the the Nadaun assembly constituency. In the Bamsan constituency, from where BJP chief ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal is contesting, 69.46 per cent polling was recorded.

Dhumal voted in Sameerpur along with his family members. The Hamirpur assembly constituency which has a large number of urban voters registered the 66.85 per cent votes.

In Nadaunta 65.08 per cent voters cast their votes, while in Mewa 66.07 per cent and in Nadaun 71 per cent polling was recorded.

The Buhana polling booth in the Bamsan assembly constituency recorded 97 per cent polling where 389 voters out of 399 voters cast their votes.

A 112-year-old woman, Gurdai, cast her vote at the Malag polling station under the Nadaun assembly constituency.

UNI adds: Prem Kumar Dhumal expressed confidence that the BJP was heading for a landslide victory in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections. ''The BJP will comfortably win over 45 assembly seats due to the blessings of the people who are coming out in large numbers to cast their votes,'' he told reporters after casting his vote here.

Referring to a report in a section of the media that the state government was considering a proposal to approach the Supreme Court for postponing the counting of votes to avoid clash of two Assemblies in case the BJP returns to power, Dhumal said it would be of no use.

State Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh would not be allowed to stay in power a day more after the people vote out the Congress government, he added. 

Shimla, December 19
It is not the poll outcome which is bothering the BJP but the apprehension of a constitutional crisis in view of the current Assembly’s term till March 9, which is giving anxious moments to party bigwigs who are already preparing for a legal battle.

Senior BJP leaders will hold a meeting on December 23 or 24 to take stock of the situation and chalk out their future strategy. With the polling for the 65 assembly segments getting over, the BJP, which is confident of getting a majority, has already started consulting top legal luminaries, especially constitutional experts.

“In case the Congress moves court for stalling the counting, the doors of the Supreme Court are open for the BJP and we will fight it out legally and politically,” said Satya Pal Jain, in charge of BJP affairs in Himachal. He insisted that Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh would have no option but to submit his resignation once the mandate was in favour of the BJP on December 28.

Jain, who is himself the national convener of the BJP legal cell, insisted that in case the Chief Minister did not submit his resignation, the Governor would be dutybound to dissolve the Assembly. Uder Article 324 of the Constitution courts normally do not interfere till the election process is over.

In view of the statement of the Chief Minister that he will complete his tenure till March 9 there is speculation that he could create a constitutionals crisis by insisting that the present Assembly complete its term. “We are confident that keeping in view democratic traditions, the Congress high command will ask Virbhadra Singh to resign the moment its is clear that the mandate is in favour of the BJP,” he says.

Even though it is not certain whether the Chief Minister will create such a situation some of his close associates say that there is every possibility that Virbhadra Singh would want to ensure that he gets credit for certain mega projects like a central university, an IIT and a government medical college at Tanda, already announced by the government.

Apprehending that the government would take important decisions, the BJP has also demanded that the code of conduct should be continued and the Virbhadra regime disallowed to take important policy decisions. The BJP leaders point out that after the completion of polling today the status of the government is as good as a caretaker regime.

Dharamsala, December 19
Vipin Parmar, president of the BJP Kangra district unit who is fighting the election from Sulah, today alleged that a Congress worker, who was a government employee, attacked him while he was coming out of the polling booth after casting his vote at Nanu village.

He said one Inder Parmar, who worked as a forest guard with the Forest Department, attacked and manhandled him. “I suffered minor injuries in the attack. My clothes were also torn,” he said.

Vipin said he had lodged a complaint with the Palampur police station and brought the matter in the notice of the Election Commission seeking strict action against the Congress and its supporter.

Confirming the incident, Kangra DC B.K. Aggarwal said a police party and the local SDM were immediately rushed to the spot. The police was looking into the matter, he said.

The Congress has, meanwhile, refuted the allegations saying that a government employee will not take the risk to attacking anybody on behalf of a political party and that too without any provocation.

Leaders of the Congress have termed the complaint a well-planned gimmick of the BJP candidate to gain sympathy of the voters of the area after failing to get positive response from them during the campaigning.

The SDM was also looking into the matter, a senior official of the district administration, said.

Renukaji (Nahan), December 19
Renuka BSP candidate Prithvi Singh and three of his supporters were injured in a mid night attack by Congress workers in Khagva village, about 60 km from here, under Sangrah tehsil.

The Injured were rushed to the Dadahu referral hospital from where Ran Singh, who was injured seriously has been referred to the Nahan hospital.

After this incident tension has gripped the Renuka constituency. Local policemen and Jawans of the central paramilitary forces were patrolling the area.

Additional SP of Sirmaur Bindu Rani Sachdeva confirmed the incident and registration of a criminal case in Renuka Police station in this regard in which son of Prem Singh, Congress candidate from Renuka, has also been booked.

Dharamsala, December 19
Seven electronic voting machines (EVMs) went out of order during the polling at various places in Kangra district today. These were, however, immediately replaced to continue with the process of voting.

Additional deputy commissioner of Kangra K.D. Lakhanpal said EVMs at Surahwan village in the Gangath constituency and Baswan village in the Guler constituency went out of order as their ballot buttons did not work properly. There was also some problem with EVMs at Kuhna village in the Paragpur constituency.

At Sel village in the Baijnath constituency, sequence error was reported in the morning due to which the EVM was replaced.

At Haldara village in the Sulah constituency, the presiding officer wrongly pressed the “close” button of the control unit following which the EVM stopped functioning. The unit was replaced and the previous machine was also sealed by the polling staff.

A snag in an EVM was also reported from Sakao Hat Tarsoo village in the Kangra constituency.

A peculiar situation developed at Lachoon village in the Jaswan constituency where all buttons of the ballot and the control unit stopped functioning around 12.45 pm. The unit was replaced and the old one was sealed immediately as 257 voters had already cast their votes in it.

Una, December 19
After PPCC president Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and local governments minister Manoranjan Kalia, another Punjab leader had to face embarrassment during Himachal elections.

Congress MLA from Garshankar Luv Kumar Goldy was caught by the Himachal police in Santoshgarh assembly constituency.

He was accused of trying to influence the electorate in violation of the election code. As per the election code, all leaders from outside the state had to leave the area 48 hours before polling.

However, Goldy was found roaming in the Santoshgarh area by the Himachal police today. The police officials deflated the tyres of his private vehicle in which he was traveling. Later, he was taken in another vehicle and deported out of the state border.

The officials at Santoshgarh confirmed the incident. Goldy was, however, not available for comments despite repeated attempts to contact him on the phone.

Earlier the Una police officials had challaned the vehicle of PPCC president Rajinder Kaur Bhattal for using red light in the Santoshgarh area.

The polling remained peaceful in five constituencies of the district but for a stray incident in the Chruru area of the Chintpurni constituency. The presiding officer in the area has accused Congress candidate Rakesh Kalia of misbehaving with him and trying to stop him from doing his duty.

From the reports reaching here, about 60 per cent polling has been registered in the district. Kutlehar, the most backward constituency of the district, registered maximum voting.

Mandi, December 19
Old women in rural areas exercise their votes as “per the will of their family members”. It’s God who decides winners and losers, they believe.

On the other hand, young voters, especially first-timers, make their choice taking into consideration various other factors.

Visually impaired Sufli Devi, 80, was seen waiting for her turn at the Baggi polling station in the Mandi (Sadar) constituency.

She was accompanied by her son, Tara Chand. “I cannot see much, but I want to cast my vote,” she said.

Nainku Devi, 81, reached the Baloh polling station in Mandi (Sadar) to cast her vote. She said: “I will cast my vote as per the will of God. Only one who is helped by God will win. My ‘bahu’ and grandson have told me how to press the button and leave it when it made a sound,” she added.

On the other hand, young voters said: “We will vote for the candidates who assured us of regular water supply and pucca roads.”

Seti Devi, 110, was the oldest voter who came out and cast her vote at Katola in Drang, the biggest segment in the district, having 81,105 votes. Parvati Devi, 92, cast her vote at Moti Bazari in Mandi town, Bhagat Ram Gupta, 92, at Karsog, Siuntu Devi, 102, at Dharampur, Serju Devi, 98, and Giani Devi, 98, at Gopalpur.

Shimla, December 19
Bogged by rebellion within its ranks, the Congress in the state today expelled 14 persons, including an ex-MLA and state youth Congress general secretary, on the charge of indulging in anti-party activities.

State Congress president Viplov Thakur ordered expulsion of these mostly district-level party leaders for six years, a party press note issued here said.

Those expelled included seven from the party’s unit at Nurpur block, two from Banjar block and three from Mandi Sadar from where former union minister Sukh Ram’s son Anil Sharma is contesting.

Ex-MLA Dile Ram Shawab was expelled for working against party nominee at Banjar in Kullu district.

The HPPCC has also expelled secretary of Mandi district Balbir Guleria and chief organiser of Congress Seva Dal of Mandi Sadar block Ram Lal Sharma on the same charge.

Meanwhile, state youth Congress president Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, MLA, has expelled his general secretary Yogesh Mahajan for working against the party’s official candidate. — PTI

Shimla, December 19
The Election Commission has suspended one official and issued notices to three others in Solan district for not being present in their polling station in the district.

While one revenue official has been suspended, notices have been issued to three others after the EC observer found them absent from the Gujarhati polling booth in the Doon Assembly constituency of Solan district last night, Nalagarh tehsildar Baldev Sharma said.

A report from Chamba district said voting was delayed in Kelhal polling station in the Rajnagar Assembly constituency of the district following slogan-shouting against polling officials.

Polling was delayed at the booth after poll officials objected to local people reaching the booth from the prohibited side following which the people resorted to slogan-shouting.

Calm was resored at the polling booth only at the intervention of elderly people and local party activists. — UNI

Palampur, December 19
The functioning of the Hospital Kalyan Samitis, constituted by the state government in various hospitals of the district, have come under severe criticism as lakhs of rupees collected by these samitis from poor patients are not properly utilised and accounted for.

The government had set up these kalyan smitis in the district and subdivisional hospitals with an aim to generate funds to meet the day-to-day financial requirements of these health institutions.

These samitis were authorised to collect funds from patients, who underwent any medical test, X-ray, ultrasound scanning, surgery and other medical examinations in the hospitals. The patients had to pay between Rs 10 to Rs 300 to these samitis, and these funds were supposed to be incurred on the welfare of patients and for the betterment of the hospitals.

The SDMs of concerned subdivisions were made the supervisory officials for these samitis.

It is most surprising that no proper rules and regulations were made by the government to keep a check on the functioning of these bodies. No provisions were made as to how the funds collected would be utilised by the officials. Most of the SMOs in the district, who collected these funds, failed to maintain proper accounts. In many hospitals no body knew how much amounts were received from poor patients and where it was spent.

Information gathered by The Tribune also revealed that the funds collected by these the Hospital Kalyna Samitis had gone in to crores in the past five years. It is a matter of serious concern that utilisation of these funds were not subject to any audit by the Accountant General of Himachal Pradesh or internal audit by the Health Department.

Therefore, concerned officials were at liberty to misuse the funds. In various hospitals funds amounting to Rs 30 to 40 lakh were received annually by the SMOs and the same were shown spent for the welfare of hospitals in one year.

However, the true picture is entirely different as many SMOs allegedly purchased luxurious items, furniture, fridges and air conditioners from these funds, which is in gross violation of directions of the government

Under the government rules, items exceeding Rs 2,500 could not be purchases without calling open tenders, but these rules were not followed by the samitis and contractors and subcontractors were paid lakhs of rupees. Besides, machinery worth lakh of rupees were also purchased by these samitis in gross violation of the rules. No income-tax and sales tax was deducted on the payments made to the contractors.

Shimla, December 19
Principal of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Theog, Shimla, was given the “best principal at national level” award by minister of human resource development of India Arjun Singh at Bal Bhawan in New Delhi yesterday.

Sharma has received many awards in the fields of education, personality development and computer literacy. He was awarded the Bharat Jyoti Award in 2003.

In 2004, he got the Bhagwan Shrinath and the Best Citizen of India awards. R.P. Sharma, a mathematics teacher of the same school, got the best teacher award.