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MCD polls: Half of Delhi did not care to vote; BJP confident of winning

Sr citizens outnumber young voters; AAP faces first local test; Results on Wednesday

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After a fiercely fought month-long election campaign, voting wrapped up in municipal corporations on a blazing Sunday, with approximately 53.53 per cent turnout, similar to the scene in  2012 polls. But the overall enthusiasm was sluggish as the voter turnout dipped in comparison to the assembly polls that took place in 2013 and 2015, respectively, and the 2014 Lok Sabha election.

In the 2015 Assembly election, the turnout was 67.13 per cent, and, in 2013, it was 65.93 per cent. In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, it was 65.07 per cent.

“Around 54 per cent voting was recorded in the MCD elections,” said State Election Commissioner (SEC) SK Srivastava, adding that it almost touched the figure of the last corporation election in 2012.

This shows that almost half of the national capital decided to stay home. While senior citizens braved the heat to vote, youngsters were hardly seen in polling booths through the day. While the streets remained quiet, the election vigour could be felt in some places, including the Walled City, rural areas, unauthourised colonies and slum clusters. In upscale and middle-class localities, there were low turnouts.

The middle and upper middle class, who often take to Twitter and other social media platforms to air their grievances, did not turn up in large numbers.

The turnout was the maximum in the East, followed by North and South. Clearly, the poor and low-income settlements came out to vote in large numbers, compared to the upper middle class and those in upscale colonies.

Even before the first leg of polling ended, AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal raked up a controversy, saying: “There are reports from all over Delhi about EVM malfunction and people with voter slips not being allowed to vote. What is State Election Commission doing?” The stakes are very high for AAP since it not only lost the Punjab and Goa assembly elections, but also the Rajouri Garden assembly bypoll on April 13.

Two years ago, AAP won the state election dramatically, losing just three of Delhi’s 70 seats -- all to the BJP. This is AAP’s first political test on its home turf since the sweep in 2015.

Former AAP leader Yogendra Yadav, who recently launched Swaraj India, which is also contesting the corporation polls, has said the MCD polls will be a referendum on the Delhi government, and if the AAP fails to win even 50 per cent seats, Kejriwal should resign. When asked if the results would be a referendum on his government, the chief minister said: “We will see after the result is declared.”

The Congress hopes to resurrect itself in Delhi after multiple washouts. The stakes are also high for Congress chief Ajay Maken as it is a litmus test for his leadership following many party leaders, including former Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely, leaving the party and joining BJP. The party could not even win a single seat in the last assembly polls. “If people want sensible governance, they should vote for Congress, else they will again see tu tu mai mai(confrontation) between AAP and BJP,” Maken said.

For the BJP, it is a fight against incumbency, where the party ruled for 10 years. The party then took a radical step by junking all its sitting councillors and deciding to seek votes in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Hours into the voting, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tewari announced: “We are confident of winning and our fight is not with AAP but with the Congress.”

Sunil Arora of Mukherjee Nagar said: “With Modi, we can see a change coming. We are giving the BJP another chance for his sake.” Polling stations in some areas like Nizamuudin East, Vasant Kunj, Rajendra Nagar and Model Town wore a deserted look. Others in Daryaganj, Ballimaran and Chandni Chowk were strewn with voter name slips, saffron and white caps and party flags.

Till about 1 pm, the voter turnout was low. While some blamed it on the heat, others said the MCD does not matter to them as the status of garbage and toilets in the city remains the same. The voting started very low in the morning.

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