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About 58% voters come out to elect civic bodies
The power behind burqa
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Two villages stay away in protest
MP’s name missing from roll
Candidates keep their fingers
crossed till counting
58,000 officials on poll duty could not vote
Delhi Diary
Minor scuffles
Finn commits suicide at airport
BMW crashes into bike,
3 hurt
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About 58% voters come out to elect civic bodies
New Delhi, April 15 According to state election commissioner Rakesh Mehta, 55 to 58 per cent voting took place till 5.30 in the evening. No reports of any major untoward incident came from any part of the city. However, malfunctioning of EVMs delayed the start of voting at some polling booths in eight to 10 places, including Sarita Vihar, Narela, Mandwali, Majnu ka Tila, Sadar Bazar and Gokulpuri. The polling rate was comparatively slow at some places in the morning, but it picked up towards the evening, with pleasant weather supporting people to come out. Polling for 272 wards, which began at 8 am, progressed at a slow pace for the first couple of hours. "Till early afternoon, 20 per cent voters had cast their votes. However, the turn up increased gradually and by 2 pm, around 34 per cent electorate had used its franchise. Generally, people in the city don't come out in the morning," said a senior state election commission official. Till 2 pm, nearly per cent of the 9.96 million voters had cast their votes to choose from among the 2,423 candidates in the fray. Voters looked quite excited to elect the three new corporations. "Voting should not only be seen as a fundamental right, but also as a social responsibility by people," said Gitika Sharma, a college student, who was among the first in the queue of voters at Safdarjung Enclave. The level of eagerness was same even with senior citizens, who started reaching polling stations by afternoon. "I never miss voting. I told my son to spare time to take me for voting," said a senior citizen, Juginder Kaur, at a polling booth in R K Puram. The election commission had made tight security arrangements, deploying nearly 83,000 security personnel, including men from the Delhi police and paramilitary forces. There were no major reports of violence except from Malviya Nagar where the situation turned a little tensed after a clash between two political groups. But the fight was soon bought under control by the police. The state election commission had made special security arrangements for areas like Jamia Nagar, Chandni Chowk and Seelampur as they had been declared sensitive wards. State election commissioner Rakesh Mehta had urged Delhiites to turn up in large numbers to cast their vote. "The response was above expectation as the polling was peaceful in all parts of the city," said Mehta. Apart from the two main parties--Congress and BJP-- and other small parties, over 11,158 Independents are also fighting it out.
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The power behind burqa
New Delhi, April 15 Burqa-clad women were also seen along with small children casting their franchise in Zakir Nagar, Okhla, Jafrabad, Mustafadad and other Muslim-dominated areas. Ayesha, a resident of Mustafabad, said that women have been given reservation now. "It's our duty to elect the best candidate who can raise our issues in the MCD. It is a question of women empowerment. By exercising our franchise, women should support the government on reserving seats for women," she said. Nabiha, a mother of three children in Jafrabad municipal ward, said, "I do not know about the names of candidates, but there was much excitement about women reservation. So, I decided to vote." Talha Malik, a resident of Abul Fazal Enclave Part - 1, said that she met an official in the polling station, who helped her locate her name in the electoral rolls. She said that women should vote for a candidate who is active, bold and above all, educated. Talha gave the details of a number of women candidates contesting the election from the Okhla ward. The Congress has put up 142 women candidates while the BJP fielded 139, she said, displaying her electoral awareness. Even non-Muslim women were enthusiastic about their right to franchise. In Rithala, women were seen in the morning at the polling stations to elect women candidates.
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Two villages stay away in protest
New Delhi, April 15 Khera village in the Kazipur area boycotted the elections. The polling booth wore a deserted look. A number of people were seen outside the booth with banners announcing the boycott of the polls. A resident said, "For the last 30 years, nothing was done in the area. Candidates came here seeking votes but after winning, they never came back. See for yourself the condition of roads or drainage." Locals say there are 1,280 voters in the village. Another resident said, "There is no difference between parties. This is our decision. We took the decision after a panchayat. There is not even a dispensary here. Why should we vote?" There was a boycott call by voters in a village in Alipur. They were also protesting against lack of amenities in the locality. Better sanitation, roads, education, health and other amenities were on the minds of people of all hues who came out to elect councillors in the trifurcated Municipal Corporation of Delhi. Surender Chaudhary at Sarita Vihar said, "I hope that after the elections, the condition of civic amenities will improve. Earlier, there was one MCD and the area was large, so it was difficult to manage the things," he said. |
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MP’s name missing from roll
New Delhi, April 15 He said that it was responsibility of the State Election Commission as well as the Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit to make sure that the names of all the voters are there in the electoral roll. When asked how the Chief Minister is responsible for this, he said that she heads the government and should know about the electoral roll.— TNS |
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Candidates keep their fingers
crossed till counting
New Delhi, April 15 The candidates of political groups were among the first ones to reach the polling stations. Their supporters were seen doing last minute efforts by distributing pamphlets to voters outside polling booths. Expressing gratitude to the voters, Parmila Tokas a candidate from Ward Number 166, Munirka, said, "If I get an opportunity to serve in the corporation, I will try to make my ward one of the best in Delhi and speed up its development." Candidates are apprehensive about the results because nothing can be predicted before April 17 as this time, there had been many influencing factors, including large number of Independent candidates, smaller political parties and also resident welfare associations. While the poll is a battle for survival in Delhi for the ruling BJP, the Congress is banking on its performance in the state. Though, with 172 seats, the BJP had a majority in the outgoing MCD House, dissidence and the anti-incumbency factors have created problems for it. Similarly, the allegations of corruption during the Commonwealth Games in 2010 have stained the image of the Congress. But this has not the stopped both the parties from claiming a clean sweep in all the three corporations. "People have seen progress in their areas under the BJP rule. We are confident of coming back to power," said Delhi BJP chief Vijender Gupta while casting his vote at Rohini. Whereas DPCC Chief Jai Prakash Aggrawal said, "The manner in which people of Delhi came out to vote without fear and favour shows that they want a change in the form of progressive and corruption-free municipal corporations." People, including women and old, came out in large numbers to vote in all parts of the city. "I am happy to see that voters understand the value of their vote. People are agitated against every party as they all belong to the same school of corruption," said Manjeet Kaur, an Independent candidate from Ward Number 174, Chattarpur. |
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58,000 officials on poll duty could not vote
New Delhi, April 15 The sources said that during training, the officials demanded the ballot papers, but were told by the authorities that the ballot papers would be given during the second training. When the second time came, the officials (a majority of them are schoolteachers) asked for the ballot papers, the authorities then said that they would be given in the polling stations. But the officials could not vote, finally. On condition of anonymity, an official said that he had been working as a polling in-charge for a number of years, but he could not vote this time. He said it is the responsibility of the State Election Commission to make arrangements for the ballot papers for the election officials. A spokesman of the State Election Commission, Vinod Dabas said that ballot papers were given to those officials who were willing to vote. All the officials were
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Delhi Diary
This attracted a number of people who had come for refreshment in the shop. They thought that the shopkeeper had started dealing in plastic goods. But when they asked him, the shopkeeper clarified that this was an election symbol and the buckets were placed to campaign in favour of an independent candidate. When work speaks louder On the last leg of campaigning of the MCD polls, many candidates such as Aman Arora, the Congress party's candidate for ward 163 Safdarjung Enclave, apparently chose the modest way of allowing their work to speak for itself. While Arora went on to point out that his candidature was an effort to emphasise that his party was in for the long haul, his supporters held a quiet march. "Our campaign is not about creating a noise, it's all about working quietly and ensuring that work happens in the ward which has been neglected under the BJP," he said. After the monthlong campaign, the fatigue and the firm belief in "silence speaks louder at times" come naturally. Child issues make it to polls Even children were not left behind when it came to participating in the MCD elections. They did not cast vote, but had their say by ensuring that matters concerning their rights were not neglected. They launched a child-friendly campaign under Bachpan Bachao Andolan in the run-up to the polls. They reached out to candidates personally. These child campaigners proposed a manifesto listing out their demands which include elimination of child labour, ensuring the implementation of RTE Act, construction of separate and clean toilets for girls in schools, proper sanitation and water facilities. A total of 78 candidates in 52 wards were declared "Bachpan samarthak" who took a pledge to protect child rights while 23 others who refused to sign the manifesto were labelled "Bachpan virodhi". The more things change… With a large number of people coming out to vote on Sunday, there were also many voters who cast their votes without knowing how special their opinion was this time after the trifurcation of the civic bodies. People like autorickshaw drivers were bearing the electoral mark on their forefingers but few of them knew about the trifurcation. "Ithought I had to vote three times, but then I was told that it had to be only once," said a driver Raju as he proudly raised his voter’s mark. Showing indifference to the move he said, "Things remain the same even if they make five corporations." (Contributed by Syed Ali Ahmed, Ananya Panda, Himani Chandel)
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Minor scuffles
New Delhi, April 15 Deputy Commissioner of Police (Election Cell), AK Singla said, "The elections were peaceful and there were no major violence. There were some cases of minor scuffles, which were resolved within a few minutes." The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was trifurcated into three civic bodies--East, South and North--consisting of 272 wards. About 2,423 candidates contested the polls from these wards. Sources said that minor scuffles were reported from Sultanpuri, Timarpur, Kalyanpuri, Usmanpur, Kanti Nagar, Janta Colony, Chauhan Bangar, Saket, Kalkaji, Ballimaran and Baba Hari Das Nagar. The police managed to settle disputes between the political parties in these areas. There was a dispute between the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) supporters and those of Congress at Ballimaran. The argument started over the issue of gathering support of the voters. RLD supporter Mohammad Arif alleged, "Congress men were trying to woo our voters. They were asking them to vote for their party, as the voters said that they did not want to reveal whom they will vote for." There was also an argument reportedly between the Congress and an independent candidate at Kalkaji. Sources alleged that Congress supporters were asking people to vote for them. There was a similar incident at Chauhan Bangar. According to sources, there was a minor scuffle between an independent candidate and BSP supporters. Police officials immediately asked the crowd of about 500 people to clear the premises of the polling booth.
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Finn commits suicide at airport
New Delhi, April 15 According to the police, Arttu Karlella (27), the man was mentally unstable. They found a diary from his rucksack. "After reading a few pages from the diary, we believe that he was mentally unstable. The Finnish embassy also agreed that Arttu was not mentally sound," said a police officer. The Investigating Officer (IO) of the case had seen Arttu strolling at IGI Airport without his shirt at 7.30 am today. The IO took him to the Finnish embassy and left him with the officials at 9.30 am. "However, Arttu managed to come back to the airport. The IO became aware of the incident at 1.30 pm when he went to a court," added the officer. When the police reached the site of the incident, it saw Arttu lying in a pool of blood. He was rushed to the Safdarjung Hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. A private security guard at the multi-level parking area at Terminal 3 told the police that he had tried to stop Arttu from jumping. The police has informed the Finnish embassy officials of his death. He arrived in India on December 31 last year. His visa was to expire on June 30.
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BMW crashes into bike,
3 hurt
New Delhi, April 15 Nasiruddeen (40), Rahul (14) and Parul (6) were injured in the accident. They are residents of Chawri Bazar in Central Delhi and were travelling on a motorcycle. The speeding BMW car was heading towards Chandigarh when it rammed into the rear of the motorcycle. The incident occurred at Ring Road near Rajghat at 12.10 pm. The injured were rushed to the LNJP Hospital. According to the police, Nasiruddeen and Parul are unconscious and in a critical condition. Rahul is presently out of danger. The 50-year-old car driver, Man Bahadur, has been arrested. |
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An independent candidate had a novel way of campaigning that amused a number of people. She had hung colourful plastic buckets at a sweet shop, appealing to the voters to exercise their franchise on the symbol of bucket.