New Delhi, April 11
A staggering 8.2 million people in Delhi exercised their franchise for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections on Thursday, breaking all records of the past three decades, said Delhi Chief Electoral Office (CEO) Vijay Dev on Friday.

The turnout in the Capital on Thursday was 65.05 per cent, with the highest 67.13 per cent being recorded in the Chandni Chowk parliamentary constituency.

In 2009, the overall voting percentage for Delhi was recorded at 51.85 per cent while the highest voter turnout ever in the history of Delhi Lok Sabha poll is 71.3 per cent recorded in the parliamentary elections held after the Emergency was lifted in 1977.

"Thank you Delhi for making us proud and breaking all records of three decades. The total turnout was 65.05 per cent in Delhi. It broke the record of the last three decades," said the Chief Electoral Officer.

He added that the voting broke the record of not only the parliamentary, but assembly elections too.

"As many as 82,65,000 people exercised their franchise and broke the record of the December assembly election in which 78,75,000 cast their vote," Dev added.

"This has become a reality. Delhi residents have broken the 'urban apathy' tag and came out in large numbers, especially women and youth, to exercise their franchise," said Dev.

Providing the details of the constituency-wise polling, he said Chandni Chowk recorded the highest of 67.13 per cent polling as compared to 55.21 per cent in 2009 and the lowest was in North West with 61.38 per cent.

East Delhi recorded 65.59 per cent voting as compared to 53.44 per cent in 2009, North East Delhi 63.08 per cent as compared to 52.39 per cent, New Delhi 65.03 per cent as compared to 55.83 per cent, North West Delhi 61.38 per cent as compared to 47.44 per cent and West Delhi 66.03 per cent as compared to 52.47 per cent, and South Delhi 62.98 per cent, he added.

Another achievement of the CEO in this election is that it has been able to shorten the gap between men and women voting turnout as compared to 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

In these polls, 65.75 per cent men and 63.64 per cent women cast their votes in the triangular contest among Congress, BJP and newbie AAP. In 2009, the voting percentage of men and women were 53.6 per cent and 49.6 per cent respectively.

"It was an incident-free election. No cases of EVM malfunctioning was reported from anywhere, although some minor glitches were reported from some places, which were sorted out immediately," Dev said. 

New Delhi, April 11
With the dust having settled on the electioneering, candidates as well as leaders of various parties in the national Capital took the much needed break today by spending time with their loved ones, watching movies, going out and even sleeping through the day.

For AAP candidate Ashutosh, who is in the fray from Chandni Chowk, it was a lazy day and he did "all that he loves" which he had missed during the hectic campaigning while Union Minister Kapil Sibal, Congress candidate from the same constituency woke up late and went to his office.

"The last 50 days have been very busy. But today I got up little late then usual, played with my dogs. I like watching movies and it was something I had been missing all these days. Today I watched 'For Whom the Bell Tolls'," Ashutosh said.

About his future plans, the journalist-turned-politician said that he suffered severe dehydration during campaigning due to which both his legs have gone weak.

"I visited my physician who has asked me to take five days rest after which I will travel to Varanasi and Amethi for campaigning," he said.

Sibal, who holds two important ministries, spent his day holding meetings, clearing files and doing other official work which had been lying pending, said an official of his personal staff.

For Jai Parkash Aggarwal, sitting MP and Congress candidate from North East Delhi, it was both family and work that kept him busy throughout the day.

"I woke up early and met my granddaughters before they left for school. I was not able to meet them during the last one month as I used to start my day very early and return home late. I also met a lot of people as I usually like to do that. Also reviewed polling with party colleagues," he said.—PTI

New Delhi, April 11
Uncertainty returned to haunt parents seeking nursery admission in Delhi schools for their children as the Supreme Court today put on hold the admission process.

A Bench headed by Justice HL Dattu passed the stay order on an appeal filed by some parents against a Delhi High Court ruling on April 3 allowing resumption of admissions on the basis of the norms prescribed by the city government on February 27.

In the appeal, parents in the inter-state transfer (IST) category contended that the HC order had resulted in their children losing the admissions secured on the basis of draw of lots.

Arguing for the affected parents, senior advocate Nidhesh Gupta said his clients had got the admission under the earlier guidelines which were altered by the government on February 27.

Though the HC would hear their plea on April 16, its ruling was enabling those under the alumni category to take the seats vacated by their children. Gupta pleaded that the HC order was in violation of the right to equality guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution.

The affected parents have also challenged the February 27 notification by the Lieutenant Governor scrapping the IST category on the grounds that this provision was being misused to claim 5 points. Under the earlier point system for nursery admissions, 70 of the 100 points would go to children living in the neighbourhood of the school and 20 per cent to admission seekers whose sibling was already studying there. Another 5 points would be given to children whose parents (either mother or father) were alumni and the remaining 5 points to the IST category.

In the stay order, the SC did not give the next date of hearing. 

New Delhi, April 11
Activists and leaders of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal), including DSGMC president Manjit Singh (GK) and general secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa, have left for Punjab to work for party candidates while BJP workers have left for Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttrakhand and Himachal Pradesh to campaign for the party candidates.

Manjit Singh has gone to Amritsar for campaigning for BJP candidate Arun Jaitley and Sirsa is in Bhatinda where Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhbir Badal's wife, Harsimrat Kaur Badal is contesting the Lok Sabha elections. The Delhi unit team will be deployed in Bhatinda, Amritsar, Shri Anandpur Sahib, Jalandhar and Patiala.

Leaders included in Manjit's team are Avtar Singh Hit, Onkar Singh Thapar, Ravinder Singh Khurana, Kalkaji MLA Harmit Singh, Shahadra MLA Jatinder Singh Shanty, Harvinder Singh (KP), Amarjeet Singh Pappu, Chaman Singh and Satpal Sing.

Delhi BJP president Dr Harsh Vardhan said that thousands of party workers were being sent to UP, Rajasthan, Uttrakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

New Delhi, April 11
Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung today said that the role of the 'Humanities and Social Sciences' is necessary while dealing with the issues of gender insensitivity, class and caste biases, religious intolerance and regional conflicts.

"The role of the humanities and social sciences education can hardly be underscored. It is all the more necessary today when we think of issues which face our society, be it gender insensitivity, class and caste biases, religious intolerance, regional conflicts. For addressing these issues, we need training in the humanities and social sciences," he said while speaking at the Annual Day Function of Lady Shri Ram College for Women.

Jung also lauded the college in providing excellent education to women and said, "The college is emblematic of feminism that helps women find their rightful place in the sun. It trains women who go on to excel in every sphere of their endeavour, be it the arts, media, education, the corporate sector, or governance," he said.

"They are empowered with an academic training, professional competence, and an ability to assume positions of leadership with complete ease. This to my mind is both a symptom and a cause, of a slow but sure social revolution," said the Lieutenant Governor.

He gave away awards to the distinguished alumnae on the occasion and also to those who have served the college for 25 years. 

New Delhi, April 11
A 32-year-old man was killed and two of his friends were injured when their car rammed into a stationary vehicle at south west Delhi's Delhi Cantonment area in the early hours of Friday.

The car also caught fire, but the survivors did not suffer any injuries, according to the police.

The deceased has been identified as Sandeep Kamal, a resident of Palam Vihar in Gurgaon. According to the police, Sandeep was returning home with his friends Manish and Varun in a Hyundai Santro car. They were near Rao Tula Ram Marg flyover when they met with the accident at around 4.15 am.

"A Mahindra pick-up van was parked at Sanjay Gandhi T-Point when the Santro car rammed into it. Within minutes, the fire engulfed the entire car and it was reduced to a mangled heap of metal," said a police officer.

The three men managed to get out of the car, but suffered critical injuries.