Delhi bypoll results: Counting underway in Rajinder Nagar, AAP takes early lead

Delhi bypoll results: Counting of votes in Delhi's Rajinder Nagar Assembly constituency began on Sunday morning. The Election Commission has made massive security arrangements at the counting centre. Voting took place on June 23. A low turnout of 43.75 % was recorded.

AAP's Durgesh Pathak is leading by over 2,000 votes. 

The counting for Rajinder Nagar bypoll is taking place at Delhi's ITI Pusa. The strong room is being protected by a three-tier security system. Postal ballots will be counted first.

A separate special box will be there for counting of VVPAT (voter-verified paper audit trail) slips, he said.

The elections to the seat were necessitated as AAP leader Raghav Chadha had resigned as MLA after being elected to the Rajya Sabha. A total of 43.67 per cent of the male electorate and 43.86 per cent of female voters turned up for the polling. The percentage of third gender voters stood at 50 per cent.

14 candidates are in the fray but the AAP and BJP are the main competitors.

AAP's Durgesh Pathak is fighting against BJP's Rajesh Bhatia. The Congress has nominated Prem Lata.

This was also the first electoral exercise in Delhi after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The Rajinder Nagar bypoll turnout was even lower than the figures recorded in the Rajouri Garden bypoll (46.5 per cent) and Bawana bypoll 44.8 per cent), both held in 2017. In 2015 polls, the two Delhi assembly seats had registered a turnout of 72 per cent and 61.83 per cent respectively. 

With inputs from PTI