New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that Himachal Pradesh will vote for the party's poll guarantees including Old Pension Scheme, employment, and 'Har Ghar Laxmi' scheme.


The tweet comes as polling for the Himachal Pradesh election is underway and as per Election Commission's Voter turnout app, the approximate turnout till 9 AM is 5 per cent.


"Himachal to vote for OPS, Himachal will vote for employment, Himachal to vote for 'Har Ghar Laxmi'. Let's vote in large numbers, and make our significant contribution to Himachal's progress and happy future," Rahul Gandhi tweeted.






Casting her vote, Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh said that the grand old party is confident of winning 40-45 seats.


"We'd like to tell people of Himachal Pradesh to vote for development & work. Congress always worked for development & in the time to come only Congress can take that work forward in the state. We're confident of winning 40-45 seats," news agency ANI quoted her as saying.


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Voting Across 68 Constituencies


Voting for the crucial Himachal Pradesh elections began on Saturday at 8 am on a slow note after officials conducted a mock poll at all booths to check EVMs.


More than 55 lakh voters in the hill state will decide the fate of 412 candidates in 68 assembly constituencies. 24 women candidates are in the fray this time.


Of the total voters, 28,54,945 are male and 27,37,845 female voters in the state.


Himachal Pradesh's Chief Electoral Officer Maneesh Garg said all arrangements are in place for the polling.


"All 7,884 polling parties have reached the polling stations and set up the polling booths. They are accompanied by security forces. Nearly 50,000 polling staff and around 25,000 security staff have been deployed," he told news agency PTI.


The voting is scheduled from 8 am to 5 pm and the Election Commission has 7,884 polling stations, including three auxiliary voting stations in far flung areas. Of these, 789 are vulnerable booths, and 397 critical ones.


The 2017 assembly election saw a record 75.57 per cent polling.


(With Agency Inputs)