Dehradun, November 18: Voting in almost all parts of Uttarakhand is being conducted for the civic elections which will decided the fate of 84 of the 92 urban local bodies (ULBs) in the state. At stake is the credibility of the Trivendra Singh Rawat-led BJP government, which stormed to power last year with a brute mandate.

The polling, which began at 8am, is scheduled to end at 5pm. Considerable voter turnout has been witnessed so far, with Ministers, Opposition leaders and key socio-religious figures also coming out to cast their votes.

Visuals of Uttarakhand civic polls shared by news agency ANI:

A total of 1,064 wards are being contested across the 84 ULBs, featuring 4,978 candidates in the fray. The total electorate size is 23.53 lakh, comprising  12.20 lakh male and 11.33 lakh female voters.

In the state, 1258 centres, 2265 polling stations, 107 zones, and 282 sectors have been created for voting. Besides this, 52 Strong Rooms have also been made where ballot boxes will be kept under tight security.

In the wake of elections, security has been heightened across the state. Around 10,000 police personnel, 4,000 home guards, 2,000 PRD jawans and 25 companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) have been deployed in cities and towns.

The civic poll results are being held on ballot papers, unlike the assembly elections last year which was conducted through the electronic voting machines or EVMs. The results are expected on November 20, when the State Election Commission is slated to begin the counting of votes.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 18, 2018 11:39 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).