New Delhi, Feb 5: Delhi recorded a turnout of 33.31 per cent till 1 pm as young and old voters turned out to cast ballots to choose a new 70-member Assembly on Wednesday, an official said.

The exercise remained largely peaceful with voting percentage rising quickly after a cool morning made way for a warm afternoon.

There was a commotion at a polling booth in Seelampur where a bogus voter was caught casting a vote on someone else’s identity. The incident occurred at Aryan Public School, Booth Level Officer, Seelampur, Gayatri, said.

Allegations of poll code violations also continued to circulate till afternoon with former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia alleging that rival parties were giving money to voters, a charge which was dismissed by police.

The turnout in the 2020 Delhi Assembly election stood at 62.82 per cent, 4.65 per cent lower than 67.47 per cent in 2015. In 2013, the turnout was 66.02 per cent, 8.42 per cent higher than 2008’s 57.6 per cent.

In 2020, the AAP won 62 out of 70 seats with a vote share of 53.57 per cent. The BJP won eight seats with a 38.51 per cent vote share. The Congress got 4.26 per cent of votes and others polled 3.66 per cent votes.

In 2015, the AAP won 67 seats with 54.34 per cent vote share. The BJP won 3 seats with a 32.19 per cent vote share. The Congress bagged 9.65 per cent votes and others got 3.82 per cent votes.

Till 11 am Wednesday, North East Delhi district led the pack with 24.87 per cent turnout and New Delhi district recorded the lowest turnout of 16.46 per cent. Shahdara district recorded the next highest turnout of 23.30 per cent. South West district 21.90 per cent, East district 20.03 per cent, North West and South districts 19.75 per cent, South East 19.66 per cent, and West district 17.67 per cent.

Voting, which began at 7 am, will continue till 6 pm With nearly 3,000 polling booths marked as sensitive, authorities have heightened security with the deployment of 220 paramilitary force companies, 35,626 Delhi Police personnel, and 19,000 Home Guards. Drone surveillance and Quick Reaction Teams have been put in place to ensure law and order.

The elections will decide whether the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) retains its dominance, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stages a comeback, or the Congress re-emerges as a strong contender. The results will be declared on February 8.

Campaigning ended on Monday at 6 p.m. after an intense electoral battle. In the 2020 Delhi Assembly elections, the AAP secured a landslide victory with 62 out of 70 seats, the BJP won eight, while the Congress failed to win a single seat for the second consecutive time.

(IANS)

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