Uttarakhand Panchayat Polls: First Phase Sees Strong Voter Turnout

The initial phase of Uttarakhand's three-tier panchayat elections concluded with a significant 55% voter turnout recorded by 4 pm on Thursday. The voting process, which began at 8 am, proceeded smoothly till its closure at 5 pm, according to state election officials.

While the state election commission has yet to release the final voter turnout data, notable participants included Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and his mother Bishna Devi, who cast their votes at a primary school in Nagla Terai, Udham Singh Nagar district. Dhami encouraged citizens to actively partake in the democratic process.

To facilitate voting, Thursday was designated as a paid holiday across polling districts. The second polling phase is slated for July 28, with vote counting scheduled for July 31.

(With inputs from agencies.)