With the campaigning ending at 5 pm on Monday, political parties and their candidates went frantic with the last minute drive to woo voters. Apart from the door-to-door campaigning, public meetings and car and bike rallies marked the final day of the campaigning. Places like Dharmpur, Raipur, Rajpur Road, Dehradun Cantonment and Mussoorie were abuzz with loudspeakers blaring out poll songs and slogans meant to attract the electorate.
Urmila Rawat, who was found raising slogans in the favour of a candidate at Shivlok Colony in Raipur, said she along with 20 women, made rounds of various localities with campaigning ending at 5 pm on Monday. “We made some extra effort in the final hours to win the hearts of the voters. I am now satisfied that our efforts would bear fruits on Wednesday when the polling would be held,” she said.
Meanwhile, Dehradun and its outskirts witnessed traffic jam with the car/bike rallies hitting the streets. Besides, youths in large numbers participated in processions. Many of the youths sounded excited as they were taking part in such rallies for the first time. Young girls were also seen participating in the bike rallies.
Vikki, who participated in the rally for an independent candidate, said that the candidate had provided him with fuel to take part in the rally. “I love to ride bikes. Besides, the excitement of campaigning is special. This is the first time that I am taking part in poll rallies,” he said.
The fuel pumps in the city were found clogged with buyers, mostly youths, out on campaigning. However, the common people were at the receiving end of things as they had to wait patiently in the long queue for their turn to come. Some of them lost patience and were found arguing with the fuel pump staffers.
Sameer Bhatt, a resident of Adarsh Vihar, was found shouting at a staff of a pump located on EC Road, complaining that the staffers were favouring the political activists at their expense.