Poll preparations get final touches

More than 50,000 police personnel, including home guards and 65 companies of para-military forces, have been deployed across the state as Uttarkhand goes to polls on Wednesday. However, polling in Bazpur Assembly Constituency in Udham Singh Nagar district was countermanded, following the death of Congress party candidate Janak Raj Sharma in a road accident two days back, Chief Election Officer N Ravi Shankar said on Tuesday.

8220;Most of the polling parties have reached their destinations along with security personnel,8221; Shankar told mediapersons. Around 4000 police officials from Uttar Pradesh and 600 from Himachal Pradesh have also been deployed. 8220;The inter-state borders have been sealed to deter any attempt by anti-social elements from entering the state. Movement on the international border with Nepal has also been curtailed till Wednesday,8221; he said.

The EC has also been provided with two helicopters, which are being used to deploy polling parties in five booths in Chamoli and Pitthoragarh districts. A special polling booth exclusively for blind using Braille electronic voting machine EVM has also been set up in National Institute of Visually Handicapped, he added.