An indispensable minority in the Capital, the Muslims came out in large numbers to exercise their franchise on polling day on Wednesday except Ballimaran Assembly seat, which registered lowest attendance for polling.
The average turnout of this crucial chunk of voters stood at an overwhelming 65 per cent on December 4, a jump of over 15 per cent from the turnout recorded in 2008 Assembly elections. Constituting 14 per cent of the total voteshare of Delhi, Muslims play a key role in deciding the fate of the candidates in the polls.
While in the previous Delhi elections, 49 per cent of Muslims voted; this time polling by the community rose to 65.21 per cent. Seemapuri which has 25 per cent Muslim voters witnessed the highest turnout among all the 70 constituencies.
Similarly, Mustafabad, with 36 per cent Muslims, had the third highest polling in the city. Of a total of 70 seats, there are 11 seats where Muslim votes can make a significant difference; these include constituencies like Seelampur, Matia Mahal and Okhla, which are densely populated by Muslims. Seelampur alone has 50 per cent of Delhi’s Muslims and on polling day, people of this area thronged polling booths to decide the fate of the contesting candidates. The voting recorded was a whopping 67.48 per cent. Out of 13 constituencies that have a minimum 20 per cent Muslim population, seven seats recorded voting of 65 per cent or above where Karawal Nagar, Gandhi Nagar and Babarpur also found place.