In preparation for the Lok Sabha elections, the Uttarakhand government has announced April 19 as a public holiday, coinciding with the voting day.
The directive was released by the General Administration Department of the Uttarakhand government on Tuesday.
The order specified that on April 19, all educational institutions, banks, government and private offices, as well as industrial and manufacturing units, among others, will remain closed.
This measure has been implemented to encourage widespread participation in the forthcoming general elections, ensuring that all citizens exercise their voting rights.
At the Vijay Shankhnad rally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held in Rudrapur on Tuesday, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami gifted a conch to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
PM Modi inaugurated the BJP’s election campaign in Uttarakhand by delivering a speech at a rally in Rudrapur, situated within the Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar Lok Sabha constituency. It’s worth noting that out of the 543 Lok Sabha seats, Uttarakhand accounts for only five seats, with the BJP nominating Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah, Anil Baluni, Ajay Tamta, Ajay Bhatt, and Trivendra Singh Rawat for these constituencies.
As per the Election Commission of India, the residents of Uttarakhand will participate in a single-phase election on April 19. Historically, Uttarakhand has been a closely contested territory between the BJP and Congress, both considering it a crucial battleground to showcase and rally support for their respective national agendas.
In both the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP secured victory in all the Lok Sabha seats. Additionally, in the 2022 assembly polls, the BJP emerged dominant with 47 out of 70 assembly seats, while the Congress secured 19 seats. The BSP and Independents hold two seats each.