CEC Rajiv Kumar Treks 18km Through Uttarakhand's Inaccessible Terrain to Check Polling Requirements

In a gesture of solidarity with polling officials and a bid to encourage voters to exercise their right, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar trekked for 18 kms through inaccessible terrain to visit polling station in Uttarakhand’s Dumak village in Chamoli.

Upon reaching the village, Kumar was greeted with enthusiasm by villagers.

In a video clip, Kumar said that by doing this he wanted to motivate polling officials who travel through tough terrains and also encourage the villagers to vote.

Dumak and Kalgoth villages, part of the Badrinath Assembly constituency, are the most remote polling booths of Uttarakhand.

“Polling parties have to walk three days to reach here. I wanted to visit here to understand the challenges faced by the polling personnel during elections. I would be visiting more such remote polling booths to understand the requirements,” he said.

Meanwhile, a day after winning the Champawat by-election with a record margin, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday held a roadshow here and was accorded a grand reception at the BJP office. Addressing party workers, Dhami credited their hard work for his victory and thanked the people of Champawat for giving him a huge mandate.

“I am indebted to the people of Champawat for giving me 94 per cent of their votes, but a big victory like this also doubles my responsibilities towards the state,” he said. Dhami recorded a landslide victory in Champawat on Friday, defeating Congress’ Nirmala Gahtori by more than 55,000 votes. Gahtori even lost her deposit.

“Now that the election business is over, we should all collectively work towards the goal of making Uttarakhand a leading state by 2025 as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said. State BJP president Madan Kaushik, former chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, his cabinet colleagues Subodh Uniyal and Ganesh Joshi, Rajya Sabha MPs Naresh Bansal and Kalpana Saini congratulated Dhami and shared the dais with him at his reception at the party office.

Read all the Latest India News here