Delhi Election 2020: Capital records poor turnout; 42.29 percent voters cast ballot till 4 pm, Mustafabad records highest figures

Till 4 pm on Saturday, Delhi recorded a poor turnout in the 2020  Assembly election , with barely 42.29 percent of the people stepping out to exercise their electoral franchise. This was despite a fiercely contested campaign by the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP).

While voting was slow in the early hours, it picked up between 3 pm and 4 pm, and in seven districts, the turnout increased by more than 10 percent.

At 3.30 pm, the constituency of Mustafabad had recorded the highest turnout at 53.10 percent, followed by the rural constituency of Narela at 49.76 percent.

Earlier in the day, former vice president Hamid Ansari and senior RSS leader Ram Lal were among those who queued up outside the Nirman Bhavan polling station in the first hour of voting. Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, who is seeking to repeat his party’s 2015 Assembly election performance, voted at the Rajpur Transport Authority polling station in the Civil Lines area.

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Kejriwal, who is contesting the polls from the New Delhi seat, was accompanied by his wife Sunita and son Pulkit. Before leaving for voting, he sought his parents’ blessings.

Minutes before polling began, Kejriwal tweeted, “Please go to cast vote. A special appeal to all the women - As you shoulder the responsibility at home, likewise, the responsibility of the country and Delhi is on your shoulders.”

वोट डालने ज़रूर जाइये

सभी महिलाओं से ख़ास अपील - जैसे आप घर की ज़िम्मेदारी उठाती हैं, वैसे ही मुल्क और दिल्ली की ज़िम्मेदारी भी आपके कंधों पर है। आप सभी महिलायें वोट डालने ज़रूर जायें और अपने घर के पुरुषों को भी ले जायें। पुरुषों से चर्चा ज़रूर करें कि किसे वोट देना सही रहेगा

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 8, 2020

President Ram Nath Kovind, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, West Delhi BJP MP Parvesh Verma and Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari also exercised their right. Union ministers S Jaishankar, Hardeep Singh Puri were also among those who cast their vote on Saturday.

Union home minister Amit Shah, who led a very aggressive campaign and covered 60 Assembly seats, appealed to voters to “free” the national capital from lies and vote-bank politics.

“By giving Delhi clean air, clean drinking water and every poor house, only the best capital of the world can make it a government with far-sighted thinking and strong intentions… I appeal to the people of Delhi to vote to free Delhi from lies and vote bank politics,” Shah tweeted.

BJP president JP Nadda also appealed to all the voters to vote in large numbers.

“Each vote of you is important for the unity and integrity of the country and holistic development of Delhi. Your vote only will be script the golden future of Delhi. ‘Pehle Matdan, Phir Jalpan’. Jai Hind,” Nadda tweeted.

Security measures

Delhi Police and paramilitary personnel conducted flag marches in sensitive areas in the northeast and east Delhi during polling, officials said.

Elaborate arrangements have been made to ensure smooth conduct of the Delhi Assembly elections, they said.

“The personnel, including senior officers, conducted flag marches in sensitive areas. They also conducted patrolling on motorcycles. PCR and quick response teams have also been deployed at sensitive areas” Joint Commissioner of Police (Eastern Range) Alok Kumar said.

Flag marches were conducted in Brij Puri, Kalyanpuri, Trilokpuri, Seemapuri, Khajuri Khass, Jaffrabad, Mustafabad, Krishna Nagar and Mayur Vihar in northeast Delhi, Shahdara and other east Delhi areas.

In view of the ongoing anti-CAA protests in Shaheen Bagh, the Delhi CEO Office has put all five polling stations in the area under the “critical” category, and confidence-building measures are continuously being undertaken to reassure voters, officials said.

Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh reiterated that the area is under “tight vigil” and “there is no obstruction” in areas where poll activities will be conducted, so voters will face no problems.

With inputs from PTI