New Delhi:

A grandmother, a mother and her two daughters were out on a family outing in Uttarakhand’s Dehradun this morning to cast their votes for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, which begin today in 21 states and UTs. There were 102 races in the precinct.

A photo shared by news agency ANI shows Prabha Sharma (grandmother) and her daughter Preeti Kaushik standing with their granddaughters Shamita and Sa Sakshi Kaushik on both sides. All four proudly displayed their inked fingers, a symbol of their vote.

All five Uttarakhand Lok Sabha seats are going to polls today. The BJP won all five seats in the 2019 elections and won the assembly elections last year, defeating the Congress party. The saffron party won 47 of the 70 seats in Parliament, an impressive return if 10 fewer than last time.

The Congress won only 19 seats but increased its vote share by 8 seats and 4.39%. Opposition parties hope this election will continue this improvement.

Read | India’s national election begins today, voting in 21 states: 10 points

Dehradun falls under the Haridwar seat, which has been held by the BJP’s Ramesh Pokhriyal since 2014 and was previously held by former Congress chief minister Harish Rawat (Harish Rawat) in charge.

The BJP, however, gave the ticket to Trivendra Singh Rawat, who briefly served as chief minister in this election. The Congress party nominated Virender Rawat as the joint opposition candidate.

Read | Poor sanitation, winter tourism: key issues in Garhwal

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Uttarakhand, a newlywed couple in wedding attire posed outside a converted government school polling station in Paurigarhwal after casting their votes.

#2024 Lok Sabha Elections | Uttarakhand: A newlywed couple cast their votes for the general election at a polling station in Paurigarhwal today. pic.twitter.com/orHQgAT06C

— ANI (@ANI) April 19, 2024

The Garhwal seat has also been with the BJP since 2014, with BC Khanduri winning first and then Tirath Singh Rawat in 2019. This time, Anil Baluni won the seat from the BJP. His opponent is Ganesh Godiyal of the Congress Party.