38.51% voter turnout in MCD byelection to 12 wards

Voting for byelections to 12 wards of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) concluded successfully here today, with a voter turnout of 38.51 per cent till 5:30 pm, according to the State Election Commission (SEC).

Among the 12 wards, Chandani Mahal recorded the highest voter turnout at 55.93 per cent, followed by Mundka at 44.5 per cent, Sangam Vihar-A 44.4 per cent and Naraina 42.76 per cent.

Meanwhile, Greater Kailash recorded the lowest voter turnout at 26.76 per cent, followed by Dwarka-B at 29.76 per cent.

The voting began at 7.30 am and ended at 5.30 pm. The polling remained peaceful, with no untoward incident reported at any polling station, the Commission said. No disruption in voting was reported due to technical issues or malfunctions in EVM machines, it added.

All three major parties - ruling BJP, opposition AAP and Congress - are eyeing for gains in the bypolls.

The State Election Commission had set up 580 polling booths across 143 locations for the bypolls.

To ensure smooth conduct of voting, 2,320 election commission staff, 580 Home Guards jawans, 2,265 police personnel and 13 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces were deployed at the polling booths.

A total of 51 candidates were in the fray. The stakes are high as the results will directly influence Delhi’s civic power dynamics ahead of the next mayoral election.

Polling was held in Mundka (Ward No. 35), Shalimar Bagh B (Ward No. 56), Ashok Vihar (Ward No. 65), Chandni Chowk (Ward No. 74), Chandni Mahal (Ward No. 76), Dwarka B (Ward No. 120), Dichaon Kalan (Ward No. 128), Naraina (Ward No. 139), Sangam Vihar A (Ward No. 163), Dakshin Puri (Ward No. 164), Greater Kailash (Ward No. 173) and Vinod Puri (Ward No. 198). These seats fell vacant earlier this year after nine BJP and three AAP councillors were elected as MPs or MLAs, necessitating mid-term polls to fill the positions. The result will be announced on December 3.