Polling is taking place across 68 assembly constituencies in Himachal Pradesh. Polling began at 8 am and will end around 5 pm. In a very significant development, officials conducted a mock poll at all booths to check Electronic Voting Machines (EVM).

Election Commission (EC) informed that only four per cent polling was registered till 9 am. It began to pick up as the morning progressed and the winter chill eased a bit. Till 11 am 18 per cent voting was recorded. According to 1 pm update, 37.19 per cent voting was recorded.

A glance at the vote percentage at a few important constituencies:

Chamba: 28.35 per cent
Mandi: 41 per cent
Bilaspur: 34.05 per cent
Simla: 37 per cent
Kullu: 40.33 per cent
Hamirpur: 33.86 per cent

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President JP Nadda, Minister for Sports, Information & Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur, Chief Minister Jairam Thakur, former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal among others also cast their mandate. After casting his vote Nadda while speaking to media said, BJP will come to power in the state. He said, BJP works for the development of people.

More than 55 lakh voters in the region are excising their franchise and will decide the fate of 412 candidates in 68 assembly constituencies. Twenty four women candidates are in the fray. Of the total voters, 28,54,945 are male and 27,37,845 female voters in the state.

In an early morning message to voters, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged them to enthusiastically participate in the “festival of democracy” and register a voting record. In a tweet, Modi also greeted young voters who will be exercising their franchise for the first time.

Trends are with the BJP as people say they have seen development in the region. However, the real picture will be crystal clear on December 8 when results will be declared.