New Delhi, December 4
A record 67 per cent Delhi electorate voted today in the fiercely fought Assembly elections billed as a litmus test for the ruling Congress ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. This is a first-ever triangular contest between the Congress, the BJP and debutant the Aam Aadmi Party.

In an unprecedented exercise, voting went on till 9.30 pm - four-and-a-half hours past the 5 pm voting deadline - when the last ballot was cast by waiting voters in a booth in Okhla Assembly segment. The turnout that shattered the previous highest of 61.75 per cent in the first elections to the state Assembly in 1993 saw voting hours being extended in several polling booths beyond the closing time of 5 pm as around 1.7 lakh voters were still waiting in winding queues.

"The turnout has been around 66 per cent. The election was incident-free," Delhi's Chief Electoral officer Vijay Dev said. “The young have broken all stereotypes. They want to vote,” he added. Counting of votes will be taken up on Sunday. The Election Commission officials estimated that the turnout could be around 67 per cent in the final tally. — PTI aspecial coverage p10