Ahead of results, visits to temples, counting centres mark the day

Anshita Mehra

New Delhi, June 3

As the nation prepares to welcome the results of the Lok Sabha elections on Tuesday, candidates from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and their INDIA alliance partners, including the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress, sought divine blessings and met vote-counting agents on Monday.

In anticipation of good results on the crucial day, candidates visited temples to pray for victory. Some even visited counting centres along with their supporters amid searing heat.

In the Chandni Chowk constituency, BJP candidate Praveen Khandelwal, facing Congress candidate JP Agarwal, organised a recital of the Sunderkand and the singing of the Hanuman Chalisa. The event, aimed at invoking divine support for a BJP victory in aall seven Delhi seats, featured the Shri Ram Charit Manas Samiti of Chaumukha Temple. Their renditions of Sunderkand and other devotional songs, including “Jo Ram ko laye hai hum unko layenge” and “Abki baar BJP 400 paar dekhna chahu su,” captivated the audience, bolstering the morale of Khandelwal’s supporters.

In the North West Delhi constituency, BJP candidate Yogendra Chandolia visited the Shyam Baba Temple, seeking the blessings for the election results. Chandolia is contesting with Congress candidate Udit Raj, who won the seat in 2014 as a BJP candidate before switching parties. Raj, meanwhile, focused on preparations by participating in training sessions for counting agents in Rohini, emphasising the importance of meticulous scrutiny during the vote-counting process.

Bansuri Swaraj, the BJP candidate for New Delhi, performed “aarti” and Rudrabhishek at the ancient Shri Gauri Shankar Temple in Chandni Chowk on Sunday. She prayed for the happiness and prosperity of the nation, facing off against AAP candidate Somnath Bharti, who spent Monday visiting the vote-counting centre at Gole Market, ensuring his party’s agents were well-prepared and vigilant. He stressed the importance of accurate verification of electronic voting machines (EVMs), emphasising that serial numbers must be correctly checked.

In East Delhi, BJP candidate Harsh Malhotra also engaged in preparations for vote counting, attended a meeting with his counting agents to ensure readiness for Tuesday. Malhotra is competing against AAP candidate Kuldeep Kumar in a tightly contested race.

Other notable candidates in the Capital include Manoj Tiwari (BJP) in North East Delhi, who is up against Congress’s Kanhaiya Kumar. In West Delhi, BJP’s Kamaljeet Sehrawat faces AAP’s Mahabal Mishra, and in South Delhi, BJP’s Ramvir Singh Bidhuri is contending with AAP’s Sairam Pahalwan.

As the candidates geared up for the big day, the atmosphere was charged with a mix of fervent prayers and strategic preparations. The activities reflected not only their hope for a favorable outcome but also their commitment to ensuring a smooth and fair counting process.

The election results, set to be unveiled on Tuesday, promise to be a significant event, potentially reshaping the political landscape. As candidates and their supporters await the outcome, the combination of divine invocations and meticulous preparations underscores the high stakes and intense dedication characterising this electoral season.