By IANS
Shimla : Brisk polling was underway to pick a new assembly in Himachal Pradesh Wednesday, with over 1 million people having voted by 2 p.m. in the second and final phase of balloting.
Voting picked up around noon after a slow start on a cold and breezy morning, all across 65 seats. By 1 p.m., more than 35 percent of the 4.4 million voters had made it to the polling centres.
In a population of 6.3 million and a house of 68 legislators, the main battle is between the ruling Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
According to the Chief Electoral Officer Manisha Nanda, 4.4 million voters are eligible to vote Wednesday to pick from among 324 candidates.
The notable heavyweights are Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh of the Congress from Rohru and BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal from Bamsan.
While the Congress is highlighting the development work it has carried out in the last five years, the BJP is attacking the ruling party on issues like price rise, corruption and growing unemployment.
Minister for State for Foreign Affairs Anand Sharma was prevented from voting in the morning at Shimla as he did not have a voter identity card or any other document to prove his identity.
Half an hour later Sharma did procure an identity card from his house and was allowed to cast his vote.
Virbhadra Singh and his wife Prathibha Singh, an MP, voted in Rampur. Dhumal did so at Bamsan in Hamirpur district.
The voting was peaceful. There was a solitary incident of violence in Kangra’s Sulah seat when some people roughed up BJP candidate Vipin Parmar, leaving him bruised and his clothes torn.
The first phase of the polling took place for the three tribal seats of Bharmaur, Lahaul and Spiti, and Kinnaur Nov 14.
The BJP and Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) – which is trying to make a mark in the hill state — have fielded candidates in all the seats.
There are 5,934 polling stations Wednesday. The highest station is Tepa, at a height of 12,000 feet, in Banikhet constituency of Chamba district.
Over 40,000 government officials and security forces have been deputed to carry out the voting process across the state.
In 2003, 74.5 percent of the electorate voted. The Congress won 43 seats and the BJP 16. Independents and others got nine seats.