Delhi elections 2013: 34% voting recorded till 1pm

New Delhi, Dec 4 –  Moderate to brisk voting was on Wednesday witnessed in Delhi as 34 per cent of the nearly 1.2 crore electorate exercised their franchise during the first five hours in the assembly polls where Congress, BJP and AAP are locked in a spirited fight.

 

"Thirty-four per cent of the electorate have cast their votes till 1pm. The polling has so far been peaceful and there were no reports of any untoward incident," top officials in the Delhi Election Commission said.

 

Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, chief minister Sheila Dikshit, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, BJP's chief ministerial candidate Harsh Vardhan were among the early voters.

 

The Congress is facing a stiff fight from its traditional rival BJP while debutant Aam Admi Party's entry into the electoral fray has made the contest an interesting one.

 

Facing the toughest battle of her political career, Dikshit said she has kept her "fingers crossed" on the outcome of the election.

 

Price rise and anti-incumbency are seen as major issues that may trouble Congress which is in power in the national capital for the last 15 years.

 

After casting her vote, Sonia exuded confidence of her party's fourth straight victory in polls.

 

"We will win," she said with a smile outside Nirman Bhavan polling booth.

 

There were reports of malfunctioning of electronic voting machines (EVM) in some parts of the city but they were rectified, election officials said. The EVM at polling booth in Aurangazeb Lane, where Rahul cast his vote, malfunctioned when polling began.

 

In New Delhi, Jungpura, Badli, Krishna Nagar and Kondli constituencies, some voters complained that their names have been struck from the electoral rolls and they could not vote.

 

"I have a voter card. But still I could not vote as my name was not there in the electoral roll," said a voter in New Delhi constituency.

 

Election Commission officials said around 38 per cent women voters and 32 per cent men have cast their ballot till 1pm.

 

The voting began at 8am at 11,753 polling booths out of which 630 have been identified as critical and hyper critical.

 

A total of 1.19 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise, out of which 66.11 lakh are men and 53.20 lakh are women. The number of first time voters is 4.05 lakh.

 

810 candidates are in the fray in the three-cornered contest between Congress, BJP and AAP.

 

Elaborate security arrangements were made in the capital with deployment of 32,801 personnel of Delhi Police and 10,700 central paramilitary force personnel.

 

The Election Commission has appealed to people not to carry mobile phones while going to cast their votes.

 

While BJP has fielded candidates in 66 constituencies Congress and AAP are contesting from all 70 seats.

 

BSP, which was the third largest party in last Assembly election, has fielded candidates in 69 seats, NCP in nine and Samajwadi Party in 27 seats. A total of 224 independents are also in the fray.

 

People who went to vote carrying mobile phones were turned back by election commission officials. These voters said people should have been informed by the EC beforehand as it was a kind of harassment for them.

 

"I have to go home to keep my phone as the officials did not allow us to carry the phone inside the booth," said Krishna Kumar, a resident in Bhogal.

 

Some differently-abled persons complained of absence of ramp in the polling booths.

 

"It was difficult for us to vote as there were no ramp in the booth," said a voter in New Delhi.

 

New Delhi, Dec 4 – Greater Kailash, Mehrauli, Narela, Najafgarh, Bawana and Patparganj constituencies recorded 35 per cent polling till 1pm while 30 per cent voting was reported from Krishna Nagar seat where BJP's chief ministerial candidate Harsh Vardhan is in the fray.

 

Jungpura, Timarpur, Kasturba Nagar and Deoli constituencies recorded less than 30 per cent polling till 1pm.

 

Election Commission officials said a total of 112 electronic voting machines were replaced after they developed a snag.

 

Source: TOI