Meanwhile, Congress' Maken expressed his despire hoping the voters would vote for 'sensible governance'.
Assuring a win for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls, Congress turncoat Arvind Singh Lovely on Sunday said that he joined the saffron bandwagon because of its sincere and dedicated intentions to serve the people. ‘The BJP is laying the foundation of a new corporation with an idea of clean politics. And this is why I have joined this party. Today history will be made, as no party on the face of Indian politics has taken such a decision where it has changed its entire political leadership. I believe that BJP will win with majority in all three MCDs,’ said Lovely.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took on the State Election Commission claiming that reports of "faulty" EVMs were pouring in from across the national capital on polling day. The Aam Aadmi Party supremo also alleged that many voters with valid voter slips were "not allowed" to exercise their franchise in the municipal polls. Kejriwal had earlier demanded that the election be postponed till arrangements for VVPAT-equipped electronic voting machines (EVMs) were made.
"Reports from all over Delhi of EVM malfunction, people wid voter slips not allowed to vote. What is SEC doing’ (sic)" he wrote on Twitter.
One SEC official admitted that there were reports of "technical glitches" from a few places but added that the faults were rectified.
The VVPAT machine dispenses a slip with the symbol of the party a person has voted for. The slip drops in a box, but the voter cannot take it home.
The voters, however, can see the voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) slip for seven seconds.
Earlier, after casting his vote, Kejriwal urged the voters of Delhi to come out of their houses and exercise their franchise for a "dengue and chikungunya-free Delhi".
"I appeal to the people to come out in large numbers and vote for a chikungunya and dengue-free Delhi," he told reporters.
Asked if the MCD polls were a referendum on the AAP government's two-year performance in Delhi, he said, "We will see that when the results are declared on Wednesday."
Asserting that Delhi has witnessed the worst during the BJP’s tenure in the MCD, former chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Sunday expressed optimism that the people would vote for the Congress in the civic polls this time.
Claiming that the BJP has done nothing for the national capital in the last ten years, Dikshit said she is hoping for better results for the Congress in the civic polls.
‘We are very hopeful about these polls. And I am sure that we will perform much better this time. People are really angry with the BJP as there is no cleanliness, workers don’t get their pay,’ Dikshit told ANI.
‘The BJP has done no work in the national capital. Delhi has witnessed the worst under the BJP’s rule (in MCD). I am sure the people of Delhi will vote after putting a lot of thought. The BJP will not get as many votes it is expecting,’ she added.
Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken earlier in the day said that the BJP-led corporation has failed to live up to its expectation in the last ten years.
‘I think that people should vote for sensible governance and I believe that people will vote for sensible governance. Looking at the track record of the Congress Party, the people will vote for the Congress in Delhi. BJP ruled corporations have caused enough damage. We need to rectify this now and give good governance in Delhi,’ said Maken.
Meanwhile, Swaraj India co-founder Yogendra Yadav while vouching for his party accused the Congress, AAP and BJP of ruining Delhi. Yadav asserted that Swaraj India is the only option with the national capital. ‘All these big parties have made Delhi hell. There is garbage and dirty water everywhere in the national capital. The air is polluted, the roads are broken, Delhi has to face the scare of vector-borne diseases every year,’ said Yadav.
‘Today the people of Delhi will have to decide whether they want to repeat the unfortunate history or will they choose to move ahead. And if Delhi is wishing to look forward then they have an option in Swaraj India,’ he added.
Around 35 per cent votes were polled in the municipal elections in the national capital till 2 PM, with the electorates in north Delhi leading the tally. "Around 43,82,359 votes have been polled since 8 AM. As many as 16,40,304 people have cast their vote in areas under the North Delhi Municipal Corporation," according to the State Election Commission (SEC). Polling began for the high-stakes MCD polls at 8 AM and will go on till 5:30 PM. The elections to two wards have been postponed due to death of candidates, so voting is being held in only 270 wards. "Around 35 per cent of the total votes have been polled.
In South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) area 16,40,304 votes have been while in East Delhi, the figure stands at 11,05,365," a senior official of the Commission said.
Meanwhile, annoyed over the delay in sending poll percentage by the officials concerned, the SEC has decided to issue memo to them.
"There has been a delay on the part of concerned official in sending poll percentage data to a control room which has been set up at the SEC headquarters. It has been decided to issue memo to them," an official said.
There are a total of 1,32,10,206 voters entitled to exercise their franchise in electing councillors for 270 wards falling under the three corporations - NDMC (103), SDMC (104) and East Delhi Municipal Corporation (63).
With inputs from PTI and ANI
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