MCD poll turnout 50.4% despite high-decibel campaign

New Delhi, December 4

Even after a high-decibel campaign for elections to the 250 Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) seats by political parties, voters showed subdued enthusiasm, as the turnout was only 50.47 per cent till 5.30 pm.

In the high-stakes polls, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) left no stone unturned to wrest power from the BJP, which has been eyeing its fourth consecutive tenure in the civic body. The Congress, which has suffered a back-to-back drubbing in the Capital since 2014 in the parliamentary, Assembly and MCD polls, also tried hard to win back some lost ground.

The voter turnout was very low in the morning hours. It went up to 18 per cent at 12.30 pm and rose further to 30 per cent by 2.30 pm. In all, 50.47 per cent of over 1.45 crore voters exercised their franchise. The counting is scheduled to take place on Wednesday.

The turnout in the MCD polls has traditionally remained low in the city. In the last three elections held in 2007, 2012 and 2017, Delhi recorded a turnout of 53.55 per cent, 53.39 per cent and 43.24 per cent, respectively.

There were no major glitches reported in EVMs and voting passed off peacefully with high security at the 3,360 critical booths in 493 locations, where more than 25,000 cops, nearly 13,000 Home Guards personnel and 100 companies of paramilitary forces were deployed.

Several people in northeast Delhi and some other areas complained that their names were missing from the voters’ lists. Delhi Congress president Anil Kumar was among those who could not vote. The BJP says it has filed a complaint with the state election panel over the missing names. The polling stations in Bawana’s Katewara village wore a deserted look as its residents boycotted the elections, alleging negligence from the civic body and thus no one turned up at the polling booths in the Nangal Thakran ward of the Bawana Assembly constituency.

Kejriwal, along with his parents, wife and children, cast his vote at the Civil Lines. After exiting the polling booth, he appealed to people to vote for a party that works for them. The BJP and AAP accused each other of violating the model code of conduct during voting. Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor alleged that recorded messages of Kejriwal making an appeal to people to vote for AAP were received by lakhs of people on the day of polling. He said it was a violation of poll code and lodged a complaint with the State Election Commission. The party also lodged a complaint against AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak and another party leader, Vijendra Garg.