Dehradun, July 27 -- The first phase of the Uttarakhand Panchayat Polls went off smoothly except for the odd hiccup, including an attack by a candidate's followers on a polling official. One official died while trekking up to a remote location. However, what is significant is that the ongoing monsoon rains did not deter either the election machinery, or the voters, from performing their respective duties. It was a healthy turnout, all things considered, touching seventy percent by present estimates.
Significantly, Uttarakhandis who are registered to vote in their ancestral villages but live in other parts of the country turned up to exercise their franchise in large numbers. The mostly abandoned villages witnessed a reunion of families and...