New Delhi: Voting on 70 seats of Delhi assembly polls began on Saturday morning to elect a new assembly in a high-voltage battle between BJP and a resurgent AAP, billed as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a description rejected by his party leaders.
Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi called the day a ‘historic’ one, appealing to the people of the national capital to vote in large numbers in the ongoing polls.
“It is a historic day. The people will decide what kind of Delhi they want. I appeal all to vote. The people of Delhi have to decide if they want a clean, secure Delhi,” said Bedi.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal appealed to the residents to come out and vote. “Everyone should go to cast their vote, after taking a bath and remembering god. You will definitely win,” Kejriwal tweeted.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi today exercised her franchise in the Delhi Assembly polls in which her party is facing a tough battle to regain lost ground. Gandhi cast her vote at a polling booth in Nirman Bhavan in Central Delhi at 9:35 am. When asked to comment on the polls, she said, “Whatever the people want will happen.
A total of 12083 electronic voting machines (EVMS) are being used to allow 1,33, 14, 215 persons to vote throughout Saturday. Of the 1, 33, 14, 215 persons eligible to vote, 2,27,316 are in the 18 to 19 years age group.
The BJP which is out of power in Delhi for the last 16 years, made a gamble by bringing in former Team Anna member Kiran Bedi into the party and made her its Chief Ministerial candidate which is said to have triggered discontent among the party leaders and rank and file.
As detractors gunned for BJP saying the results would be a referendum on the performance of the government under Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley rejected such a theory saying the contest between BJP and the AAP was a “choice between governance and anarchy”.
Meanwhile, Imam Bukhari of Delhi’s historic Jama Masjid issued a statement asking Muslims to vote for AAP, but the party rejected it saying it does not subscribe to his “communal” politics.
The Congress, which had ruled Delhi for 15 years till December, 2013 has been projected way behind AAP and BJP in pre-poll surveys. Some opinion polls have given AAP a clear majority while a few have predicted BJP’s win.
Security has been beefed up in the national capital to avoid any untoward incident, to check misuse of money and liquor to influence voters. As the number of critical polling booths has increased by 107 since the last Assembly elections, the number of security personnel has also gone up in the national capital.
Bureau Report
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