By IANS,
Shimla : Himachal Pradesh has registered a voter turnout of 73.92 percent in the Nov 4 assembly elections instead of 75 percent as reported earlier, the Election Commission (EC) said here Tuesday, scaling down the figures after final checkup.
Earlier, the EC had said the voter turnout was at a record high of around 75 percent.
“The poll percentage in all (68) assembly constituencies in the state was registered at 73.92 percent,” a statement from the Election Commission said.
The maximum turnout was in Sirmaur district (79.86 percent), followed by Kullu (78.86 percent), Solan (77.65 percent), Chamba (75.63 percent) and Mandi (75.59 percent).
The state’s largest district, Kangra, with the maximum number of 15 seats, saw 71.80 percent polling.
Hamirpur, the home district of Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, recorded 69.23 percent voting, the second-lowest in the state after Shimla (69.10 percent).
The far-off districts of Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti, where the minimum temperatures have dipped below the freezing point, also registered 73.55 percent and 74.97 percent voter turnout.
In the 2007 assembly polls, the voting percentage was 71.61 while in 2003 it was 74.51.
In the 1998 polls, the voter turnout was 71.23 percent while in 1993 it was 71.50. In 1990, it was 67.76 percent.
A record number of 459 candidates, including 36 women, were in the fray.
The EC set up 7,253 polling stations for 4,533,713 electors, including 2,322,264 men. A total of 3,351,411 voters cast votes.
The total electorates included three eunuchs but nobody exercised franchise.
The main contest was between the Congress and the ruling BJP.
The election result would be out Dec 20.
In 2007, the BJP won 41 seats, the Congress 23, the BSP one and independents three. The lone BSP legislator later joined the BJP.