World's highest polling station at Tashigang village in Himachal

Shimla: The world's highest polling station at 15,256 feet, Tashiganag village in Himachal Pradesh, saw a steep rise in voting percentage on Sunday, recording 53 per cent voting in the first two hours, a state electoral officer said.

The polling began at 7 a.m. when the temperature was below freezing point. Voters came to the polling station wearing their traditional attire to beat the chilly weather.

There are total 49 registered voters in Tashigang polling station in tribal Lahaul and Spiti district, state's Assistant Chief Electoral Officer Harbans Lal Dhiman said. It recorded a voter turnout of 53 per cent till 9 am, he said.

Dhiman said that nearby Hikkim polling station used to be the world's highest polling booth earlier but it was replaced by Tashigang during the 2017 assembly election due to some technical reasons.

He said Ka polling station, which has the lowest number of voters in the state, is situated in another tribal district of Kinnaur. The booth has been set up for just 16 voters, he added.

Both Tashigang and Ka polling stations fall under the Mandi parliamentary seat where the highest number of 17 candidates are in the fray. The seat will witness a direct contest between the BJP and the Congress.

Five MLAs, including a state minister, are among the 45 candidates trying to make it to Parliament from the state where polling is underway.

There are 53,30,154 registered voters for the four constituencies -- Shimla (SC), Mandi, Hamirpur and Kangra -- in the state.