Dehradun, Aug. 2 -- The counting process for the three-tier panchayat elections in Uttarakhand concluded on Friday, a senior official said. Till the time of print, the results were declared for 358 district (zila) panchayats, 2,972 block development councils, and 7,479 village panchayat heads (pradhans) in 12 districts. State Election Commission secretary Rahul Kumar Goyal said the counting process had been completed smoothly. "The results were declared for all seats, except where no candidate was in the fray. All results have been fed into our system and are available on the commission's website," Goyal said. He added that no untoward incident was reported during the counting. Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, "The panchayat elections were conducted peacefully across the state during the monsoon season. Around 70% voter turnout was recorded, with people actively participating in the formation of village-level governments. A large number of BJP-supported candidates have won.....be it zila panchayat members, gram pradhans, or block development council (BDC) members. I also congratulate candidates from other ideologies who emerged victorious." The voting for the first phase of the panchayat election was held on July 24 and second phase on July 28. The ruling BJP organised a celebratory event at its state headquarters in Dehradun, claiming a resounding victory in the panchayat elections. State BJP media in charge Manveer Singh Chauhan said, "The people have once again reaffirmed their faith in the vision of development of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. BJP-supported candidates have secured victories from the gram pradhan level to the district panchayats. Our party will form boards in all 89 blocks and has secured 12 district panchayat president posts." "This victory reflects the strength of the BJP's organisation and the unwavering trust of the people. The Congress should focus on introspection....," he said. "I express my gratitude to every voter of Devbhoomi Uttarakhand for participating in this grand festival of democracy and giving a new direction to the state's development," Chauhan added. The Congress too claimed victory in the panchayat elections. Congress workers gathered at the state Congress headquarters in Dehradun to celebrate what they termed "party's strong performance in the panchayat elections." State Congress chief Karan Mahara said Congress-backed candidates have registered notable wins in district (zila) panchayat member, block development council (BDC) member, and village panchayat head (pradhan) seats across all 12 districts. Mahra said the panchayat poll results reflected public resentment against the ruling BJP. "The people of the state have broken the arrogance of the BJP leadership through the ballot," he said. "Despite the state government crossing all limits and allegedly misusing the State Election Commission to swing the results in its favour, voters taught them a lesson."...