Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared as an ardent advocate of democracy and electoral politics in Rudrapur on Tuesday when he exhorted people to exercise their franchise on April 19. At the end of his speech, the PM said that the people should come out to vote and a rise in temperature should not come in the way of voting. The PMs appeal on voting assumes significance because the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned that intense heat wave conditions are likely to occur in many parts of the country during the Lok Sabha elections. Modi appealed to the people to ensure that they cast their vote before breakfast ( Pehle matdan, fir jalpan) on the day of voting. It is pertinent to mention here that the low voter turnout in Uttarakhand has always remained an area of concern for the Election Commission. The commission has taken a target of 75 per cent voter turnout in the State for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections. In the Lok Sabha elections of 2004, the voter turnout in all the five parliamentary constituencies of the State was 49.25 per cent which was much less than the national average of 58.07 per cent. In the LS elections of 2009 and 2014, the voter turnout was 53.96 and 62.15 per cent respectively. In the last LS elections held in the year 2019, 61.50 per cent voter turnout was recorded which was less than the national average of 67.40 per cent.

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