Voting for the by-election in the Kedarnath assembly seat is scheduled for Wednesday, November 20. Seven polling teams had already set off on Monday for remote polling booths, while today, 166 polling teams have departed from the Augustmuni Sports Ground.
This time, there are 90,875 voters in the Kedarnath assembly, including 44,919 men and 45,956 women. The assembly has been divided into two zones and 27 sectors.
Postal ballot facilities have been arranged for personnel, and special booths for the elderly, youth, and differently-abled individuals have been set up. Voters from the relevant areas or villages have been urged to participate in the voting process tomorrow. A total of 173 polling booths have been established for the Kedarnath by-election. To ensure security, police forces have been deployed alongside the polling teams. Additionally, local forest rangers are stationed in areas with forest cover.
For added security, regional forest officers and Central Paramilitary Forces (CPF) teams have been assigned to sensitive polling booths. Furthermore, webcasting arrangements have been made at 130 polling booths. Revenue sub-inspectors, village development officers, and Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have also been deployed. Over 1,200 police personnel, along with Home Guards and CPF, are involved in this election. SP Rudraprayag Akshay Prahlad Konde has confirmed this deployment.
In the Kedarnath by-election, 6 candidates are in the fray, including Asha Nautiyal from the BJP and Manoj Rawat from Congress. However, the main competition is expected to be between the BJP and Congress. Over the past month, BJP leaders, including CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, state president Mahendra Bhatt, all MPs, ministers, and prominent leaders have actively campaigned, while Congress has united its forces with former CM Harish Rawat, state president Karan Mahra, Ganesh Godiyal, and others. The results will be announced on November 23.
