HimVani
Shimla: Himachal Pradesh recorded a moderately decent voting turnover of 59%, nearly same as the 2004 polls. As per the state election commission, no untoward incident was reported from any part of the state. Polling started slowly in the early hours and it picked up gradually only after 10am. 31 candidates were in the fray for the four parliamentary constituencies.
34 villages boycott polls to protest Renuka Dam
Over 34 villages in Sirmaur boycotted the polls to protest against the construction of Renuka Dam, proposed to supply drinking water to Delhi. At least in six villages not even a single vote was cast as people vowed to fight against construction of the dam.
Polling booth for leprosy patients
A special polling station was set up for 13 patients admitted to the Leprosy Hospital in Sanawar in Solan district. One of the voters was Bir Singh, a 102-year-old leprosy patient
A booth for just 19 voters
19 voters of Kaa village in Kinnaur cast their vote at the smallest polling booth in the state. Nako village at 12, 500 feet has 363 voters, while Hikkam with its 321 voters in Lahaul and Spiti is the highest polling booth in the country at 15,000 feet.
Age no bar
127-year-old Bhadaru, considered the oldest voter in India, exercised his franchise in the Kasumpti constituency in Shimla. Amrawati Devi, 101-year-old disabled, reached in wheel chair to caste her vote in Raura Sector, Bilaspur. Piyara Singh, 105, and his wife Hansa Devi, 103, believed to be the oldest couple in Himachal, cast their votes in Dharamsala.
