New Delhi, Feb 7 (IANS) Voters were again back at polling stations across Delhi Saturday over a year after they delivered a fractured mandate. This time around, the BJP and the AAP have appealed for a majority vote.
People slowly began turning up at polling booths in urban and rural areas as ballotting began at 8 a.m. for the 70-member Delhi assembly.
"It is our duty and responsibility to vote, so we are here to exercise our franchise," Rajendra Sharma, one of the early voters from east Delhi's Laxmi Nagar, told IANS.
Revathi Rao, a resident of Gulmohar Park in south Delhi, said that there were barely three people when she turned up to vote at the polling booth.
However at a polling booth located in a government school in Pandav Nagar in east Delhi, voters queued even before voting started.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday urged the voters in Delhi to exercise their franchise in large numbers in the assembly polls.
"As Delhi votes today (Saturday), urging voters to go out and vote in large numbers," the prime minister tweeted.
"I particularly call upon my young friends to vote in record numbers," another tweet said.
According to the Delhi election commission, 5.7 percent votes were polled till 9 a.m.
The main electoral battle is between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), while the Congress is trying to retain its tally of eight seats.
BJP's chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi said she is "looking forward to formation of a new Delhi". The BJP had last time won 31 seats.
AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal tweeted Saturday, appealing to people to vote. AAP had won 28 seats in the 2013 election and went on to form the government in Delhi. They quit after 49 days in power.
Congress leader Ajay Maken said he was confident about the performance of his party.
"We have confined ourselves in raising real issues. Unlike other parties we have not resorted to petty politics. Congress can deliver its promises in Delhi," he said.
Over 13.3 million voters are eligible to cast their ballot in a contest that has 673 candidates.
A total of 11,763 polling booths have been set up across Delhi.
Sonia questioned today in National Herald case: ED made list of 50 questions; Blockade outside party headquarters in view of Congress's performance
Congress President Sonia Gandhi is to appear before ED today in the National Herald case. Congress workers have been protesting against this muscle since morning. Earlier also ED sent a summons to
Corona rally in elections: rallies of leaders at an epidemic pace, Modi 6, Amit Shah 10, and Mamta Banerjee's 17 rallies in next 8 days
Corona has become uncontrollable in the country. More than 2 lakhs are getting infected every day. The public is scared. Governments are advising people to adopt social distancing and wear masks, but
Russia Ukraine War: Putin lying alone? Russia boycott in UN, the foreign minister started speaking, many countries did walkout
Russia Boycott at Ukraine: Attempts are being made to isolate Russia, which has launched a horrific attack on Ukraine, in the world. Its view was also seen in the meeting of the United Nations Human
US Law: Student visa may be canceled if you leave your studies midway; Embassy warns international students
The US Embassy in India on Tuesday warned international students studying in the US that their student visas may be revoked if they quit their studies, do not attend classes, or leave their study
Government of Jharkhand in preparation for giving unemployment allowance if not 100 days of employment in a year
Workers living in the cities of Jharkhand will also get guaranteed employment for 100 days in a year. Unemployment allowance will be given if the government cannot provide employment. The State
Forex Reserve: There was a jump in the foreign exchange reserves of the country, then it crossed $ 600 billion
The country's foreign exchange reserves have again jumped and it has again crossed $ 600 billion. If we look at the data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), for the week ended May 27, the
India Pakistan: America wants to start talks between India and Pakistan, Foreign Ministry gave a big statement
The US State Department said in a statement on Wednesday that the US is supportive of starting a dialogue between India and Pakistan. Foreign Ministry spokesman Matthew Miller said in a conversation
Government's slack in screening of migrants, in Bihar 72% corona cases increased in 20 days
Patna
Manmohan Singh Memorial: Where can Manmohan Singh's memorial be built? Search for land continues, names of these places are in discussion
BJP is constantly responding to the allegations of Congress regarding the memorial of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Meanwhile, the officials have started looking for a place for the memorial
Facebook antitrust case: WhatsApp and Instagram can be sold, Zuckerberg's company lost to US agency, it will be true
Facebook may have become meta now, but its problem is not taking its name to end. Meta has long been accused of antitrust. There are allegations against him that he is not giving other small companies
