In the first such instance during the election 2017 in Uttarakhand, the people of Ruhshan village in Chamoli district have decided to boycott the Assembly election, citing anger over lack of development in the village. Venting anger, a villager Sudarshan Singh said that successive State Governments have failed to build roads in his village. “Election approaching, candidates across the political spectrum come here to seek our votes. But once the election is over they turn their backs on us with the roads remaining elusive. We would boycott the upcoming election collectively to teach them lessons for taking us for a ride during so many elections,” he said. Ballabh Pant, another villager, cited lack of electricity in the village to buttress their logic of staying away from the election. “We raised this issue before the public representatives many times, but to no avail,” he said. Sushil Singh from the same village said that none of the villagers would reach the booths to cast vote. “Our slogan is no road, no electricity, no vote,” he said. However, when contacted, Chamoli DM Vinod Kumar Suman said that issues raised by the local residents would be sorted out as part of their persuasive efforts to make the villagers to participate in the democratic engagement. “Officers concerned have been directed to meet the villagers and take appropriate action regarding the same,” he added.