67% voter turnout till 6pm on a bitter election day in Delhi

The Delhi election day began lackadaisically and took an ugly and vehement turn further, as the day unfolded. Most of the top-notch politicians cast their votes in the early hours, encouraging others to step out of their houses and do the same. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, BJP CM candidate Kiran Bedi, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, presidents daughter and Congress candidate Sarmishta Mukherjee were among those who cast their votes early Saturday, as the electoral process in the capital commenced.

Photo: PTI

Over 20% voters turnout was recorded till 12pm, which went up to an estimated 63.46% till 5 in the evening. The election commission was expecting 70% voter turnout till 6, when the voting was scheduled to conclude, but recorded 67% voter turnout.

The tough, yet tantalizing polling that began at 8 am, went ahead to take a bitter turn, with some politicians admonishing each other. The trail of accusations, allegations and complaints continued on Saturday, amidst elections, between political parties which attempted to corner one another.

BJP leader from Mongolpuri was reportedly detained by the Delhi police after he was caught red-handed with liquor. Much criticism came in from AAP over this, which claimed that the BJP was trying to influence the voters on the voting day. Soon after, some locals claimed that they were threatened to vote for the AAP if they wanted their juggis (slums) to be safe.

Photo: PTI

BJP leader and candidate Nupur Sharma went furious over AAP, as one its alleged volunteer reportedly manhandled her sisters, when they confronted him while he was asking people to vote for AAP with a broom in his hand, in New Delhi’s Sangli constituency. Nupur Sharma bridled at AAP, calling it the anti-aurat party, which was firmly refuted by the AAP.

Photo: PTI

Arvind Kejriwal then tweeted that a conspiracy was planned against the AAP, by the government, wherein voters in their strong base were sent-in slowly and were forced to return back. Later, nothing as such was found out to be true.

All the three parties were extremely optimistic about their victory, though experts asserted there was a tough competition majorly between the AAP and BJP. Reports claimed that BJP president Amit Shah had called a meeting in the morning and another was scheduled later in the evening, after the elections would conclude.

Dismissing the pre-poll surveys, BJP displayed utmost confidence and maintained optimism about forming the government, as did the Aam Aadmi Party. However, exit polls, like the pre-poll surveys, predicted a victory for the Aam Aadmi Party. Election results will be emerging on the 10^th of February.

(with inputs from Shruti Dabholkar, Alpona Dutta and Rutuja Bhosle)

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About Suyash Karangutkar

Suyash Karangutkar is a young, dedicated and an enthusiastic journalist who has a deep interest in National and International Affairs. He is an ardent political spectator who finds politics fascinating. At Spectralhues, he heads the Mumbai team and covers National Affairs & Politics. He also occasionally writes columns for Spectralhues. He can be followed on Twitter @columnistsuyash