The countdown for the Lok Sabha elections in Uttarakhand started on Wednesday with the Election Commission starting the process of the nominations in all five parliamentary seats.  However no nomination was filed on the day one. The last date for filing of nomination papers is March 27. 

Meanwhile the authorities have registered 5,800 cases of violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in the State since its enforcement on March 16. The joint chief electoral officer (JCEO) Namami Bansal stated this during a Press conference at the Media Centre in Dehradun on Wednesday.

She said that the administration is conducting many theme based activities across the State about voter awareness and to ensure safe and peaceful conduct of the Lok Sabha General Elections 2024. The officials concerned have organised over 40,000 activities across the State to raise awareness among the voters. The officials also conducted special campaigns in Nari Niketan, old age homes and educational institutions to ensure they vote on Election Day. Bansal said that 1.45 lakh first time voters aged between 18 to 19 years have been registered in the State and the administration also raised awareness among them to motivate them to exercise their right to vote.

The officials concerned have started delivering the voter ID cards of first time voters. Over 34.94 lakh voters have taken oath so far to vote in the State under the Voter awareness campaign that was started on National Voter's Day on January 25. The JCEO informed that the voting percentage of Uttarakhand in the Lok Sabha elections 2019 was about 61.5 per cent. To increase the voting percentage in the State to at least 75 per cent, the administration has prepared a booth level election management plan in 11,729 booths. The officials appointed there are making continuous efforts to encourage people to cast their vote to achieve the target of at least 75 per cent voting percentage, added Bansal.