Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Shanta Kumar
The stage is set for Wednesday's elections to four Lok Sabha seats in Himachal Pradesh which will decide the fate of 38 candidates, including former Chief Minister Shanta Kumar and BJP's Anurag Thakur.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made for today's polling and over 10,000 police personnel and 7400 home guards will be deployed across the state to ensure free, fair and peaceful voting, officials said. (
Key Contestant: Shanta Kumar)
Inter-state borders have been sealed to check entry of anti-social elements, they added.
The one-month-long campaigning, which drew to close on Monday evening, witnessed Congress and BJP leaders trading charges at each other.
Nearly 48,10,071 voters (24,77,430 male and 23,35,641 female), including 84,461 first-timers, are likely to exercise their franchise. (
Key Contestant: Pratibha Singh)
The Congress, BJP, Aam Admi Party and BSP have fielded candidates in all the four seats while the CPI-M is contesting only two seats.
Twelve candidates are in the fray in Kangra Lok Sabha constituency, 10 in Hamirpur, nine in Mandi and seven in Shimla (Reserve) constituencies.
Voting for Sujanpur assembly by-poll will also be held today.