More Stories

Informist, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025

NEW DELHI – The National Capital Territory of Delhi recorded a voter turnout of 57.86% till 1930 IST Wednesday as people cast votes to choose 70 legislators from a total of 699 candidates. The Election Commission of India said the voter turnout figure is provisional and will be updated later.

The election for the legislative assembly of the national capital is seeing a triangular contest this time among the Aam Aadmi Party, the Indian National Congress, and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Polling booths closed at 1800 IST and voting was largely peaceful, the Election Commission said. There were mild scuffles involving workers of the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party in the New Delhi constituency. AAP also accused the Delhi Police of preventing voters from exercising their franchise in some areas.

Among the issues at the top of voters' minds were safety, air pollution, civic amenities, and infrastructure. In Patel Nagar, Reeta Devi and her husband Surender Thakur cast their vote in the morning as polling began at 0700 IST. The couple, residing in the area for nearly two decades, said they are unhappy with the condition of roads in the locality. For them, the primary issues were water supply, roads, and civic amenities. "You see the condition of roads here," Reeta Devi said. "Sewerage lines are not proper. They start flowing over during the monsoon. And round-the-clock water supply looks like a distant dream now."

Other residents in the area were, however, happy with the free electricity and free water schemes of the AAP government. The Patel Nagar seat was won by AAP in 2020. This time, the party fielded Parvesh Ratan in the constituency. The BJP has nominated Raaj Kumar Anand, and the Congress candidate is veteran Krishna Tirath, a former minister in the central government.

Around 10 km from Patel Nagar, the issues were different. At Abdul Kalam Road in the New Delhi Municipal Council area, popularly known as Lutyens' Delhi, persistent air pollution appeared to be the primary issue for voters. The area is inhabited mostly by industrialists, bureaucrats, ministers, and politicians. Industrialists Rajan Mittal and Sunil Bharti Mittal voted at a polling station in Abdul Kalam Lane. For both, air pollution is a major problem in Delhi, which they said should be addressed soon. In posh Greater Kailash, Radhika Goyal said Delhi remains unsafe for women, and wants the new government to work for a crime-free capital.

The constituency to watch on Saturday, when the results are due, is New Delhi, where former chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party National Convener Arvind Kejriwal is pitted against the BJP's Parvesh Verma, son of the late former chief minister Sahib Singh Verma, and Sandeep Dikshit, son of the late former chief minister Sheila Dikshit, of the Congress.

Chief Minister and AAP leader Atishi is contesting the Kalkaji seat, where she is pitted against the BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri and Alka Lamba of the Congress. Former deputy chief minister and AAP leader Manish Sisodia is contesting the Jangpura constituency.

A total of 15.6 million voters were eligible to vote in the election. The poll panel set up 13,766 polling stations across the city for the electoral exercise. In the 2020 assembly elections, AAP had won 62 seats, and the BJP won eight. The Congress had drawn a blank.  End

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Reported by Kuldeep Singh

Edited by Rajeev Pai

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt Ltd.

Informist Media Tel +91 (11) 4220-1000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2025. All rights reserved.