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Expect More Than 85% Voter Turnout in Himachal Elections: EC

Himachal has over 49 lakh registered voters, including 24 lakh women voters.

Himachal Pradesh has over 49 lakh registered voters.
Himachal Pradesh has over 49 lakh registered voters.

In 2012, 73.51 percent of the electorate in Himachal Pradesh voted, but this year, the State Election Commission expects more than 85 percent voter turnout, Neeraj Kumar Sharma, Officer on Special Duty for Himachal Pradesh in the Assembly elections, told The Quint.

Himachal Pradesh has over 49 lakh registered voters – 25 lakh men and 24 lakh women voters. Around 43 percent are aged between 18 and 39 years.

Sharma said there was unrest in the youth due to which workshops had to be conducted across the state to motivate them to vote.
(Photo: Aishwarya Iyer/ <b>The Quint</b>)
Neeraj Kumar Sharma, Officer on Special Duty for Himachal Pradesh in the Assembly elections. 
Youth workshops had to be conducted across the state and campus ambassadors were made to stand in different universities to encourage them to practice their franchise. We’ve made progress, they should come out and vote.
Neeraj Kumar Sharma, Officer on Special Duty for Himachal Pradesh

As reported by The Quint, the youth of Himachal are distressed due to dearth of jobs and the inability to create opportunities. According to a 2013 UNESCO report, between 1993-94 and 2007-08, the percentage of households in Himachal where at least one person left their hometown to relocate elsewhere, shot up from 6 percent to 20 percent.

According to the report, Himachal tops the list of highest migration in India, followed by Haryana, Bihar and Jhakhand.

Also Read: Isolated, Invisible, Shunned: Who Will Himachal’s Dalits Vote For?

For the 68 Assembly seats, general observers have been appointed to ensure the elections run smoothly. Most of them are bureaucrats. The term of the current Assembly ends on 7 January 2018.

In Himachal Pradesh, Congress won 36 of the 68 seats in 2012 with a vote share of 42.81 percent, while the BJP bagged 26 seats with a 38.47 percent vote share.

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