Only 47% voter turnout was recorded as people thought voting is on April 23, the day of civic polls
With only 47% voter turnout, the bypoll in Delhi's Rajouri Garden Assembly constituency finished at a dull note on the blazing hot Sunday. While most people started coming only after 11.30 am, till 3 pm only 35% voting had taken place, the state election commission stated.
Interestingly, senior citizens were seen in large numbers at voting centres. Rani Devi, 75, a resident of Tilak Nagar, said, "My family has always voted for the BJP. Though I don't know the candidate, but I hope he or she will under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi."
Besides the scorching April heat, what stopped people from coming out was the confusion with the upcoming municipal corporation polls, scheduled for April 23.
"Till noon, I had no idea that the bypoll was today (Sunday). My daughter told me that she saw a poster of the election, after which I came to vote. Many people are not coming out because they are either not aware or are not excited about this election," said Tanuja Khanna, 33, a marketing professional.
Also, what put people off, was the malfunctioning EVMs in several booths. Many voters had to return without casting their vote while they were asked to come after a gap of half an hour.
The fight which is mainly among the BJP-SAD alliance's Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Congress's Meenakshi Chandela and AAP's Harjeet Singh, from the ground appeared to be only a BJP-Congress battle.
Tajender Singh, a resident of Rajouri Garden, said, " The AAP candidate did not work in the two years he was here and quit after that. It is basically a two-way fight between BJP-Congress. With a majority of voters here belonging to the Sikh and Punjabi community, they are likely to be inclined towards Sirsa."
Sirsa, also an ex-MLA from the area, has promised people to build a sports complex and address issues such as lack of parking, non-functional streetlights and revamping of major roads.
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