Delhi records over 60% turnout, dip from last Assembly polls

There was a rise in the voting percentage after initial sluggishness, especially in morning hours. “The polling percentage recorded till 5 pm is 54.14 per cent,” a Delhi CEO official said.

Over 1.47 crore people were eligible to exercise their franchise in the polls that would decide the fate of 672 candidates in 70 Assembly constituencies that are seeing a triangular contest among the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), opposition BJP and the Congress.

Read | What exit polls have predicted for AAP, BJP, Congress

Of the 11 districts, northeast Delhi recorded the highest turnout of 63.4 per cent, while New Delhi saw 44.29 per cent, the lowest.

Areas like Shaheen Bagh, Jamia Nagar, Seelampur and Jaffrabad, which saw considerable protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), witnessed long queues outside polling booths.

Anti-CAA NCRProtestors show their inked fingers after having voted at the Shaheen Bagh. (Express photo: Tashi Tobgyal)

Complaints related to VVPAT slips turned up as well with Congress’s New Delhi candidate Romesh Sabharwal saying that his name and photo did not show.

Delhi Police and paramilitary personnel conducted flag marches in sensitive areas in the northeast and east Delhi including — Brij Puri, Kalyanpuri, Trilokpuri, Seemapuri, Khajuri Khass, Jaffrabad, Mustafabad, Krishna Nagar and Mayur Vihar in northeast Delhi, Shahdara.

Among many exercising their right was Delhi’s eldest voter Kalitara Mandal aged 111-years-old. (Express photo: Tashi Tobgyal)

Top politicians including President Ram Nath Kovind, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, West Delhi MP Parvesh Verma and Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari also exercised their franchise. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal along with his family voted at the Rajpur Transport Authority polling station in the Civil Lines area.

First-time voters, Priyanka Gandhi’s son Raihan and Kejriwal’s son Pulkit also cast their vote.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra along with her husband Robert Vadra and son Raihan Vadra, who is a first-time voter after cast their vote. (Express photo: Anil Sharma)

Among many exercising their franchise was Delhi’s eldest voter Kalitara Mandal aged 111-years-old.

Belittling CAA and NRC protesters’ slogan ‘kagaz nahin dikhayenge’, senior RSS functionary Ram Lal, earlier in the day, said those shouting the slogan would be defeated in the Delhi assembly election as he appealed to people to show documents while voting.

(Express photo: Praveen Khanna)

“My message to the voters is ‘aaj apna kagaz jaroor lekar jayen. Kagaz jaroor dikhayen’ (Today, take your document along with you and show your document),” Lal said.