In Delhi, voters are clear they want change and development

New Delhi: The sentiment running through all the wards of the high-profile New Delhi constituency on Thursday during polling was that of change and development. Irrespective of age, sex or social background, voters from the tony neighbourhood of the New Delhi Municipal Corporation to Moti Nagar and from Karol Bagh to Greater Kailash – came out of their respective polling booths saying the same thing: “We need development”. Due to the socio-economic composition of a part of the constituency that comprises New Delhi Municipal Corporation area and Lutyen’s Delhi, Greater Kailash, Moti Nagar, Malviya Nagar etc, having VVIPs, politicians, bureaucrats, exporters and super rich as residents, no hurly burly could be seen on the streets throughout the day. The other areas like Karol Bagh, Patel Nagar, RK Puram, and Kasturba Nagar were also no different except that some shops in the neighbourhood markets did brisk business and politically aware residents could be seen gossiping either at market places or near the kiosks set up by political parties to guide voters. [caption id=“attachment_1475113” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Ajay Maken and Sonia Gandhi on their way to cast their votes. AFP[/caption] The day began in the New Delhi constituency with a little more ease than on any other week day, as educational institutions were closed. Till 8:30 am, the streets in Greater Kailash, Chhittaranjan Park, Safdarjung, RK Puram and in the NDMC area under New Delhi constituency visibly similar to that of the morning on Holi festival. There were hardly any people or vehicles on the streets. But, the representatives of the Congress, BJP, AAP and independent candidates – donning party colours and caps – were silently managing their respective kiosks on the one hand, and on the other hand, the police personnel focused on providing tight security right from 6:30 am onwards. The star attraction in the New Delhi constituency was the Nirman Bhawan polling station, which caught media attention at 9 am, when Congress president Sonia Gandhi arrived along with the sitting MP and Congress candidate from this constituency, Ajay Maken. The dull street opposite the Nirman Bhawan suddenly came to life with TV reporters and camera-persons rushing towards gate that led to the entrance for booth numbers 85 and 86 under the New Delhi Parliamentary Constituency. While media persons tried to get a word Sonia Gandhi left without saying anything. She was followed by Vice President of India, Hamid Ansari, who cast his vote at the same booth. It was a hectic time for the media waiting outside Nirman Bhawan as VIPs cast their vote in a steady stream. The visit of the chief election commissioner VS Sampath at around 10 am charged up the journalists waiting with the OB vans. Through the television channels, Sampat appealed to the voters across the country to exercise their voting right. “This is a VVIP area, so on a holiday like this there’s hardly any business or crowd, unlike on a regular office day, when the area remains abuzz till 6 pm. It’s only the crowd of media that can be seen to get bytes of VIP voters,” Rajesh, a tea and cold drink stall owner outside Nirman Bhawan said. At the Aurangazeb Lane polling booth, Maken escorted Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, where the latter waited patiently in a queue for his turn to cast his vote. Afyer voting, Maken told reporters, “There is no Modi wave. AAP’s votes are traditional Congress votes and it would come back to Congress now”. By 11 am, almost all the voting areas were vibrant with a steady flow of voters. The Lodhi Estate polling booth drew attention around 11:30 am, when Priyanka Gandhi and her husband Robert Vadra arrived. While walking back to her car after casting her vote, Priyanka couldn’t stop herself from responding to the waiting media. With her inimitable smile, she said, “There is no Modi wave,” and left. A large number of voters emphasised they were voting for change and chose not to name a particular party or candidate. “We want change and want a party at the Centre that can provide good governance”, one voter said. Others emphasised that good governance is needed to keep control on escalating prices of commodities. After casting her vote, the BJP candidate from Lodhi Estate, Meenakshi Lekhi, took the opportunity to tell the reporters, “BJP will win in all the seven constituencies and Narendra Modi will be the prime minister”. At around 4:15 pm outside a booth at Patel Nagar’s primary school, a group of voters were found in a major debate along with a TV channel reporter. The reporter had asked one of them why he voted in favour of Aam Aadmi Party. Before the voter could reply, the others argued furiously that it was a mistake considering that Arvind Kejriwal had quit as Delhi chief minister. Thanks to the policeman, who came to the spot and asked them to disperse, the voter was saved from further verbal duel. The NOTA option had a few takers too. “See, I voted for AAP during the Assembly polls, but it turned out to be a disaster and we can’t trust that party at the Centre. The Congress candidate has a clean image of his own but that’s not true of his party. So, I’m considering the NOTA option,” said a senior citizen BD Adlakha. The friend accompanying him shared a similar view. A similar case was found at Karol Bagh, the mixed residential-cum-commercial neighbourhood of Delhi, which has a sizeable Muslim population. “I’m not much convinced with the mainstream parties contesting the election to come to power at the Centre, so I may use NOTA,” said middle-aged Inayat Siddiqui. The election festival had, however, stolen the buzz of the famous Gaffar market in Karol Bagh. The shops in almost all the markets across the constituency were closed, except the one selling medicines, food and the tea stalls. From 1 pm to 4 pm there was a lull in the flow of voters in a large number of booths. But, after 4 pm, the numbers started swelling and reached 59 percent in this constituency. In general, the senior citizens in the residential areas of CR Park, GK, Patel Nagar, Moti Nagar and RK Puram preferred to vote peacefully during the afternoon session. The women voters – young as well senior citizens – shared a similar view of voting for a government that could provide national security and development. “Women’s security is a major issue, and I will vote for the party that will take care of the women of this country,” said Asha Rani Bharadwaj, a 53-year-old bank employee. “I have voted for the BJP because I want to see Narendra Modi as prime minister, who can successfully implement the manifesto and provide a stable and good governance, which has been lacking for nearly a decade,” said Vinay Kumar Aneja, a 62-year-old resident of Ramesh Nagar, which falls under Moti Nagar Assembly constituency. A debutant voter of the same locality, 19-year-old Neel Agnihotri, added soon thereafter, “The young are sick of corruption and while we need to weed out corruption, development of the country is equally important.” With the polling coming to an end, SR Biswas, a teacher by profession and a resident of the Bengali-dominated CR Park that falls under the GK Assembly constituency said without naming any party or candidate that unlike what happened after the Delhi Assembly election, he would like that party to win, which would bring a change through development. As many as 29 candidates are in fray in the New Delhi constituency that boasts of 1,489,262 voters. The top contenders are the sitting MP from Congress Ajay Maken, BJP’s Meenakshi Lekhi and Ashish Khetan from the Aam Aadmi Party. The glamour angle, even though not well publicised, has been provided by yesteryear’s Hindi film industry’s heartthrob Biswajit Chatterjee, contesting on the Trinamool Congress ticket.