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Poll process gets going

Filing of nominations in Uttarakhand begins

Dehra Dun: The filing of nominations for the February 21 Assembly elections in Uttarakhand began on Thursday with the issuance of notification in this regard.

"The notification for the February 21 elections has been issued," Chief Electoral Officer N. Ravishanker said.

The last date of the filing of nominations is February 1 and scrutiny would take place on February 2. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is February 5 and polling will be held on February 21. The counting will take place on February 27.

A total of 70 Assembly seats are up for grabs in the ensuing elections with the ruling Congress and the main opposition BJP being considered as front-runners to capture power.

However, what appears to be a setback to the ruling Congress, Maulana Masood Madni, a prominent Muslim leader in Uttarakhand, who recently floated a new party, has decided to contest 30 seats in the State. The newly-formed party called Maidani Kranti Dal (MKD) draws its strength from the fact that Muslims, who form 12 per cent of the total population of the State, traditionally vote for Congress, but now may back Maulana Madni. Maulana was last year hospitalised after being allegedly beaten and tortured in police custody.Madni has tried to politically cash in on the social chasm between the hills and the plains in the State by naming his outfit as Maidani Kranti Dal.-- PTI

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