DEHRADUN:The addition of 810 polling booths in Uttarakhand has prompted the BJP and the Congress to recalibrate their grassroots strategies ahead of the 2027 Assembly election.
The number of polling stations has increased from 11,733 to 12,543 following the Election Commission’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Both parties are now racing to establish organisational units and deploy workers at the newly created booths.
The exercise assumes political significance as the BJP and the Congress have long relied on the maxim, “Win the booth, win the election.” The revised booth network means the parties will have to strengthen their presence in areas where new polling stations have been established.
The Election Commission has also reported a sharp fall in the number of registered voters during the revision. Before the SIR, Uttarakhand had 79,60,762 electors. The provisional draft roll published on July 14 listed 71,33,785 voters — a decline of 8,26,977.
Officials attributed the reduction to deaths, permanent migration, duplicate registrations and voters being found absent during verification. The figures may, however, change before the final electoral roll is published on September 14, following the disposal of claims and objections.
Despite the drop in voter numbers, the number of booths has increased because polling stations with more than 1,200 electors have been reorganised. Auxiliary polling facilities used during elections have also been converted into regular booths in several places.
BJP state spokesperson Mathura Dutt Joshi said the party had intensified its booth-strengthening campaign.
“Senior BJP leaders and workers are engaged in the booth empowerment drive. The process of forming committees at the newly added booths will be completed in the next few days,” Joshi said.
“The booth is the most important unit in an election because victory is built from there. That is why the BJP’s entire focus is on strengthening its booth-level organisation,” he added.
The Congress has also begun reorganising its network after appointing district and city unit presidents.
Speaking to TNIE, Uttarakhand Congress spokesperson Dr Pratima Singh said the party had already constituted committees, including booth presidents, at more than 11,500 polling stations.
“The party is discussing the organisational arrangements required for the 810 new booths. Ward, city and district presidents have been asked to identify active workers and assign them responsibilities at these polling stations,” Singh said.
“A party can become strong only when its booths are strong,” she added.
Udham Singh Nagar recorded the largest increase, with booths rising from 1,464 to 1,642, followed by Dehradun, where the number increased from 1,882 to 2,045. Haridwar’s tally rose from 1,715 to 1,872.
Booths increased from 945 to 1,008 in Pauri, 1,010 to 1,068 in Nainital, 592 to 633 in Chamoli, and 611 to 651 in Pithoragarh. Tehri, Almora, Bageshwar, Uttarkashi, Champawat and Rudraprayag also recorded increases.
With the final voter list still awaited, the revision has opened a fresh organisational test for both major parties as they prepare for the 2027 electoral contest.
