New Delhi, Feb 5: Delhi recorded 57.89 per cent voter turnout in the assembly polls on Wednesday amid charges of malpractices including money distribution and fake voting by both AAP and BJP who are engaged in an intense battle to decide who rules the national capital.
The turnout is about five percentage points lower than the 2020 assembly polls (62.59 per cent) when the Arvind Kejriwal-led party won 62 seat of the 70 seats, while the BJP got eight and the Congress zero.
Long queues of voters were witnessed outside polling stations in different constituencies since early morning, and there were people still waiting after the scheduled time of close at 6 pm.
According to Delhi Chief Electoral officer, 57.89 per cent votes — there are 1.56 crore eligible voters — were polled by 5 pm. The percentage will go up as officials update the figures from all the 13,766 stations.
“All 70 Assembly constituencies of Delhi went to polls today in a peaceful and festive atmosphere. Voters were delighted with the seamless polling process and facilities at the polling stations,” an official statement of ECI said. “All voters in the queue after formal closing hours of polling i.e. 6 pm are allowed to cast their vote,” the statement said.
Polling booths across the city daubed themselves with colours and hung posters of celebrities bearing special messages to give the voters an impression of a true festive spirit. One such poster bore the image of Lata Mangeshkar, while several others depicted paralympians.
A total of 699 candidates are engaged in a keen battle that would decided whether the AAP comes to power in Delhi for a third consecutive term or the BJP gets a chance to form a government in the national capital after 27 years. The Congress also made all-out effort to regain its foothold in the city politics.
President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, Union ministers S Jaishankar and Hardeep Singh Puri, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal were among the early voters.
After casting his vote at a polling booth in Moti Bagh, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said everyone has worked very hard for the smooth conduct of polls.
During the day, the Aam Aadmi Party and BJP indulged in an intense blame game, accusing each other of voting malpractices in different constituencies.
Delhi Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) told PTI around noon that the polling process was going on “smoothly”. Some EVMs were replaced during mock polls and actual voting also, the CEO said.
High drama unfolded in Seelampur when a BJP leader alleged that some people wearing burqas were attempting fraudulent voting. However, police denied any fake voting in the area. In Kasturba Nagar, police sources said two men allegedly attempted to vote fraudulently. They have been apprehended and were being interrogated, they said.
Following allegations of fake voting by the BJP in Seelampur, AAP workers resorted to sloganeering. The Delhi Police, however, dismissed the charges of fake voting, and said there was enough security deployment in the area including personnel from the paramilitary forces.
In Delhi’s Majnu-ka-Tilla, Pakistani Hindu refugees, who got Indian citizenship following implementation of Indian citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, cast their votes for the first time in India.
First timers, elderly, transgenders and women enthusiastically exercised their franchise in the elections to form a new government.
After casting his vote along with his family members, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal appealed to the people of Delhi to exercise their franchise for “good schools, hospitals and development of the city”.
Kejriwal, who is contesting from the New Delhi seat for the fourth time in a row, is pitted against the BJP’s Parvesh Verma and Congress’ Sandeep Dikshit, in a keen contest.
“My parents have health issues but they were very excited about voting since morning,” Kejriwal told reporters. His wife Sunita Kejriwal and son Pulkit Kejriwal also accompanied him to the polling station.
Hopefully people will vote for “those who work”, Kejriwal said. His wife Sunita Kejriwal said people are “very intelligent” and will make the right choice.
“They won’t tolerate hooliganism,” she said.
The BJP is making an aggressive push to reclaim Delhi after over 25 years, with its campaign focusing on issues like corruption, governance failures, and law and order. (PTI)
Hindu refugees use right to franchise for first time
NEW DELHI, Feb 5: At a polling booth in Delhi’s Majnu Ka Tilla, Reshma pressed the button on an electronic voting machine on Wednesday with a sense of pride as a smile spread across her face.
For the first time in her life, the 50-year-old woman cast her vote – not just to choose a candidate, but for her family’s future.
Reshma is one of 186 Pakistani Hindu refugees who, after years of uncertainty, exercised their voting right for the first time in the Delhi Assembly polls, marking a powerful moment in their journey from statelessness to citizenship.
They all got Indian citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
Dharamveer Solanki, president of the Pakistani Hindu refugee community, expressed hope that their struggles would lessen.“Now, we won’t have to constantly change our location. We will finally get permanent homes and a stable means of livelihood,” he said.
Solanki said that people from our community were so excited that they queued up outside the polling booth in Majnu Ka Tilla — a resettlement colony for the refugees.
“I have lived here for 17 years but today, for the first time, I truly feel like I am part of Hindustan,” Chandrama said as she became emotional.
“After a long struggle, now I have hope that my children will get a better life,” she added.
For decades, thousands of Pakistani Hindus have sought refuge in India, fleeing religious persecution. Many settled in Delhi’s Majnu Ka Tila, living in makeshift shelters, and taking up daily wage work.
Twenty seven-year-old Yashoda was the first to receive Indian citizenship in her group and even had the chance to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Today, standing in a queue at the polling booth, she could hardly contain her excitement. “We have spent years working as daily wage labourers, struggling to survive. Now that we have Indian citizenship, we hope for proper jobs, homes, and a dignified life,” she said. (PTI)
Transgenders vote in hope of better future, empowerment
NEW DELHI, Feb 5: Madhubala, a 29-year-old third gender, cast her vote for the first time and expressed hope for a better future.
“We want policies that empower us, ensure our safety and give us equal opportunities,” she said.
Delhi has a total of 1.55 crore eligible voters, including 1,261 third genders with their highest concentration (294) in South-West Delhi.
Some of the community members were enthused about being able to vote for the first time, seeing it as a valuable opportunity to contribute to the democratic process and shape a better future for all.Madhubala, a dancer by profession who teaches dance to children, said, “I voted for the first time with the belief that each vote is important.” She said there are many things in Delhi that need to be fixed, right from human rights to basic infrastructure.“Our community needs leaders who will not neglect us and will take us along with others. We do not want to be left behind. (PTI)