Mussoorie, January 30
Nearly 62 per cent polling was recorded in the Mussoorie Assembly constituency in the state polls conducted today which sealed the fate of candidates, including two-term MLA from Congress Jot Singh Gunsola.

In Mussoorie the poll percentage was recorded around 50 per cent according to the sector magistrate, Vinod Kaul. The polling began on a moderate note in the morning, picked up momentum as the day progressed. Around noon 30 per cent votes were polled in 29 booths of Mussoorie sector. The pace picked up after noon and by the close of the day around 9835 votes were cast from the total of 19,869 votes, bringing the tally to around 50 per cent in Mussoorie town sector.

Some booths in Mussoorie witnessed brisk polling while some saw low turnout due to different reasons in Mussoorie. In Jharipani around 566 votes were cast from the total votes of 908.

Around 304 votes were cast at Library 1, while 220 votes were cast at Library 2.These two booths are considered bastion of Congress in the town.

However, some voters who had identity cards could not cast their votes as their names were missing from the list. The dejected OMI from Mussoorie public booth said that he had been voting the since past 15 years but today was told that his name was not in the list. Some voters were seen searching their names in the list at various booths of the town.

Tight security arrangements were made for the election, which largely remained incident-free. The fate of the candidates in the fray from Mussoorie will remain sealed in the ballot box, increasing their heartbeats till the final results are out on March 6.

All the candidates when contacted assured their victory from Mussoorie Assembly segment by showing victory sign after the polls. 

Dehradun, January 30
Nearly 67 per cent of the electorate today cast it’s votes at the end of the polling in Dehradun district today. The polling proceeded peacefully in the district that has a total of 10 Assembly seats.

While people began queuing early in the morning at all the polling booths in the district, the polling picked up in the afternoon and evening sessions.

Mayor Vinod Chamoli, too, was among the first to cast his vote at the St Ann School polling booth falling under Raipur Assembly seat.

Uttarakhand Speaker Harbans Kapoor, who is fighting from the Dehradun Cantt Assembly seat, cast his vote at the Bal Shiksha Sansthan (Yamuna Colony). “The BJP will be able to return to power. I can sense it and we will have no problem in forming the government, ” said Kapoor after casting his vote.

Earlier, small altercations between party workers at the CNI boys near Paltan Bazar alerted the police that immediately came on the scene and resolved the issue.

In Dehradun district former Chief Ministers N.D Tiwari, Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Nityanand Swami also cast their votes.

The 2012 elections will decide the fate of top leaders in both the BJP and Congress and with the polling percentage touching a high of 70 percent in the state, the pollsters say the results would not only be unprecedented but may prove decisive. 

Dehradun January 30
Thirtysix families occupying EWS flats of the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA), boycotted poll today. The residents felt cheated for getting no relief from the MDDA, which lost the case to a third party who claimed that the land where these flats were built belonged to him. The occupants have been served with a notice to vacate flats by January 30.

Rakesh Abbott, a resident, said they met vice-chairman, MDDA, on January 13 where he had assured them of doing something about it but left on three months’ leave. The secretary, MDDA, too washed his hands off saying he had no information about the matter.

The residents have filed a case regarding the matter in the sessions court.

“The VC asked us to file a case in the sessions court. Since we could not meet the expenses of fighting the case in the High Court, so VC assured us to take care of that on the MDDA’s behalf. Now he has left for vacation and the MDDA’s lawyer too did not reach on the hearing date on January 21. The case has been listed for next hearing on February 21 but the sword of vacating the flats by January 30 is hanging on our heads,” he said.

He said they also met the SSP, Dehradun, who refused to provide them any relief after January 30. The District Magistrate and Commissioner too cited the court’s verdict and expressed helpless in the case, he said. 

Dehradun, January 30
The state Congress has expressed gratitude to poll officials for a peaceful polling in the state.

Party spokesperson Surendra Kumar said people’s enthusiastic participation in the polling revealed that the people of the state had accepted the party’s agenda of development. He said the BJP’s exit from Uttarakhand was almost certain.

He also mourned the death of a Central Industrial Security Officer who died while on election duty. The party has asked the Election Commission to provide adequate compensation to the deceased’s family.

Meanwhile, the party also paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of his death anniversary.

Dehradun, January 30
Minu Khushwaha, a student of BA (II), GRD Girls College, was very upbeat as she was going to cast her vote for the first time.

An excited Minu Khushwaha said: “I had been waiting for this day for long when I will be able to cast my vote and contribute in electing the leader of our choice. I felt a sense of responsibility while using the EVM machine.”

Another student, Sonam Khushwaha, said although she did not have voting card, she went to cast her vote. “I got to know that people who have not received voting cards could also vote by showing their driving licence or identity cards provided their name is in the voters’ list. It was a great feeling as I voted for a leader of my choice and not the one whom my parents had suggested to.” — TNS

Dehradun, January 30
While Chief Minister B.C Khanduri, who is in the fray from Kotdwar, exercised his franchise from Pauri Assembly seat, Opposition leader Harak Singh Rawat of the Congress, who is in fray from Rudraprayag, cast his vote at Doiwala, and Ramesh Pokhriyal, who is fighting from Doiwala seat on the BJP ticket, cast his vote from the Mussoorie Assembly seat. Similarly, Amrita Rawat, Congress candidate from Ramnagar Assembly seat, could not cast her vote from Ramangar as her name figures in the Pauri district electoral roll.

Total percentage of Votes