Authorities are all geared up for the counting of votes polled in the Delhi municipal elections, with officials saying 42 centres have been set up for Wednesday’s exercise which will begin at 8 AM amid tight security. At least 20 companies of paramilitary personnel and over 10,000 officers of Delhi Police have been deployed at the counting centres. Delhi recorded a voter turnout of 50.48 per cent in the keenly-watched polls held on December 4, results of which may have ramifications beyond the national Capital.
“We are all set for the counting of votes tomorrow for which 42 centres have been set up. Counting will take place amid tight security arrangements,” a senior official of the State Election Commission (SEC) said. The centres are located in areas across the city, including, Shastri Park, Yamuna Vihar, Mayur Vihar, Nand Nagari, Dwarka, Okhla, Mangolpuri, Pitampura, Alipur and Model Town.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Public Relations) Suman Nalwa said adequate security arrangements have been made for the day of counting. “The police are also keeping tabs on strongrooms where Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are stored and the counting centres,” Nalwa said. Another official of Delhi Police said, “We have deployed more than 10,000 personnel from local and district levels at the 42 counting centres along with 20 companies of the Central Armed Police Force.”
The election was largely touted as a three-way contest between a spirited AAP, a confident BJP and a hopeful Congress. There are 250 wards in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and 1,349 candidates were in the fray in this election.
According to data shared by the SEC on Monday, 51.03 per cent of the male voters exercised their franchise while 49.83 per cent of female electorate voted in the crucial civic polls. The lowest voter turnout was seen in Andrews Ganj ward, where only 33.74 per cent of the eligible voters came out to vote. This was followed by the Hauz Khas ward, where only 38.72 per cent turned up. Areas such as Green Park, Greater Kailash, Munirka, Lado Sarai and Dwarka also saw a turnout of less than 40 per cent. Turnouts in areas such as Greater Kailash, Vasant Vihar and Hauz Khas have remained below the 50 per cent mark in both 2012 and 2017 municipal polls.
The figures for some of the other wards were -- Civil Lines (44.86 per cent), Chandni Chowk (44.48 per cent), Karol Bagh (44.72 per cent), Najafgarh (51.97 per cent), Rajinder Nagar (44.26 per cent), Malaviya Nagar (44.89 per cent), Greater Kailash (38.99 per cent), Laxmi Nagar (49.02 per cent). As is usual, rural pockets saw high turnouts, with Northwest Delhi’s Bakhtawarpur recording the highest at 65.72 per cent. The rural pocket of Bhati in South Delhi saw a turnout of 62.49 per cent.
According to data shared by the SEC officials, the total number of voters in Delhi is 1,45,05,358 -- 78,93,418 males, 66,10,879 females and 1,061 transgender people.