Punjab and Uttarakhand go to polls today to elect new assemblies with the Congress hoping to oust the Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) combine in the country’s grain bowl and the BJP in the hill state. According to the Election Commission, over 1.76 crore voters are eligible to vote in the 117 constituencies of Punjab in the second round of five state elections that began Saturday. The voter population is around 6.3 million in Uttarakhand, which has a 70-member house. Of the 1,078 candidates in the fray in Punjab, 417 are independents. There are 93 women candidates. The Election Commission has deployed around 200 companies of paramilitary forces to oversee the Punjab ballot. Nearly 71,000 security personnel will be on duty for the smooth conduct of elections. Many seats will see a triangular contest between the ruling SAD-BJP alliance, the Congress and the Sanjha Morcha, which includes the Left and newly-floated People’s Party of Punjab led by Manpreet Badal, a nephew of the chief minister who broke away from the Akali Dal. The main contestants include Badal (Lambi), Amarinder Singh (Patiala urban), Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal (Jalalabad), Manpreet Badal (Gidderbaha and Maur) and Amarinder's son Raninder Singh (Samana). Congress leader and former chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal has been fielded from Lehragaga. In Uttarakhand, Chief Minister B C Khanduri, who replaced Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank last year after corruption allegations, is trying to defend the turf for the BJP. Khanduri, a BJP candidate from Kotdwar, is pitted against Congress nominee Surendra Singh Negi. Dissent within BJP ranks could affect the party’s prospects, party sources admit. Manipur went to the polls Saturday. Uttar Pradesh will see a seven phase balloting from Feb 8 to March 3. Goa will see a one-day poll March 3. Votes in all five states will be counted March 6.
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