Attacks fail to dampen Delhi voters' spirits

Over 60 per cent of the 15 million eligible voters in the city today exercised their franchise in a keenly fought Delhi Assembly elections which saw stray incidents of violence but remained by and large peaceful.

Initial estimates showed that about 60 per cent of the electorate cast their vote in 69 out of the 70 constituencies which witnessed a tough battle between the ruling Congress and Opposition BJP for power in the national capital.

Chief Electoral Officer Satbir Sailas Bedi said the elections were peaceful, though there were four incidents of minor violence during the polling which began at 8 am, amid 52,000 police personnel keeping a tight vigil.

Four BSP workers were injured in clashes in Okhla area while two persons were arrested in Mehrauli for trespassing into polling booths unauthorisedly, an election official said.

Preliminary information suggests that the highest and lowest turnouts were in two constituencies of south-west Delhi with 63 per cent and 55 per cent, respectively.

There was a quantum jump in the polling percentage this year compared to that of 53.4 per cent in 2003 and 49 per cent in 1998.

Elections are being held in 69 out of the 70 Assembly constituencies while polling for the remaining one will be held on December 13. The polling for the Rajendra Nagar seat was rescheduled after BJP candidate Puran Chand Yogi allegedly committed suicide in the midst of campaigning.

Belying apprehensions that Mumbai terror attacks would cast a shadow on the polling, people came out in large numbers across the capital, especially in North-West, South-West and Outer districts.

Among the early voters were Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi and BJP's chief ministerial candidate V K Malhotra.

Dikshit saw “no reason” in people not voting for the Congress, which stood for development, while Malhotra claimed people would throw the ‘Grand Old Party’ into the dustbin due to its “overall failure on all fronts”.