Nanital

Nainital is located in the Kumaon foothills of the outer Himalayas at a distance of 285 km (177 mi) from the state capital Dehradun and 345 km (214 mi) from New Delhi, the capital of India. As of the 2011 Indian census, Nainital had a population of 41,377. Males constitute 52.3% of the population and females 47.7%, which gives the town a sex ratio of 911 women per every 1000 men, which is less than the Uttarakhand state average of 963 women per every 1000 men. The population density was 3527.45 people per square km. There were 9,329 housing units in the town at an average density of 795.31 households per square km. 9.54% of the population is under 6 years of age. In 2011, Nainital had an average literacy rate of 92.93%, higher than the Uttarakhand state average of 78.82% - around 96.09% males and 89.47% females in the town are literate. Hindi is the official language, while Sanskrit is the additional official language of the town. Kumaoni is the native language and is the most spoken language in the town. Hindi and English also serve as lingua franca between locals and tourists/outsiders.

Nainital has historically been a part of the Kumaon region. After the fall of Katyuri Dynasty in 10th century, Kumaon was divided into several small princely states, and the region around Nainital was under various branches of a Khasiya family. The first dynasty to achieve consolidated dominance over Kumaon after the Katyuris was the Chand dynasty, but it took many centuries and Nainital and its surroundings were one of the last areas to be absorbed. Trilok Chand had built a fort at Bhimtal in the thirteenth century.

Nainital town is represented in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament, by a representative elected from the Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar Constituency. Ajay Bhatt (politician), from BJP, is the current Member of Parliament from Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar. He won the 2019 Indian general elections by 3,39,096 votes against Harish Rawat from the Congress, who was also the former chief minister of the state. Prior to the delimitation of the Loksabha Constituencies of Uttarakhand in 2008, the town was a part of the Nainital Lok Sabha constituency. Generally considered a Congress Stronghold, the Congress has registered a victory from Nainital eight times since 1951. While the BJP has won this seat three times, several other political parties have also managed three victories.