Delhi Elections 2024: Voter turnout recorded at around 54.37%

The Delhi Election Commission said voter turnout in the national capital was recorded at approximately 58.70% (provisional), but added that this was not the final turnout as it did not include data from postal votes. Voting took place in several places across the city, but sweltering heat made it difficult to reach polling stations at midday.

Voting began at 7 am and continued till 6 pm. To ensure security and integrity of the election process, Delhi’s Chief Election Officer P. Krishnamurthy monitored 2,891 key polling stations live through webcast and oversaw operations. The CEO Headquarters, Delhi, has set up a control room for continuous monitoring of webcasts from key polling stations, enabling real-time monitoring and immediate response to any issues.

Read also:Delhi Assembly Elections 2024 Live Updates on May 25

Steady decline

Meanwhile, the Delhi CEO made every effort to spread voter awareness among the 1.52 lakh voters in the seven constituencies. As of 8 pm on Saturday, the approximate voter turnout trend in New Delhi Assembly constituencies was lowest at 51.54% and highest at 58.30% in Northeast Delhi, according to the Delhi CEO data. The turnout in South Delhi was 52.83%, Chandni Chowk 53.27%, East Delhi 54.37%, Northwest Delhi 53.81% and West Delhi 54.90%.

In the last Lok Sabha elections, Delhi recorded 60.6% voter turnout compared to the national 67.4% in 2019. In 2014, the national turnout was 66.44% compared to 65.10% in the national capital.

With the Ahmadji Party and the BJP splitting the seats 4-3 in the national capital, Delhi, Congress chief minister and leader Arvind Kejriwal, who will vote in Chandni Chowk constituency, and the Gandhi family, including Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, who will vote in New Delhi constituency, found themselves in constituencies without a candidate from their respective parties. Kejriwal was arrested along with his family by the Enforcement Directorate and is currently out on interim bail.

162 candidates

There are 162 candidates contesting in the Delhi Lok Sabha elections and most of them started their day early by offering prayers with their families and supporters before voting.

Politicians included President of India Draupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and S Jaishankar. Moreover, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud also voted from the New Delhi constituency.

After the vote, several leaders from the AAP, BJP and Congress expressed confidence that their campaigns had translated into votes that would ensure victory. The AAP and Congress urged voters to vote in large numbers against the BJP as this would be their final attempt to “save democracy”. The BJP said the people of Delhi had seen through the hypocrisy of the AAP-Congress alliance.

Delhi voters, who voted overwhelmingly for the AAP in state assembly elections and for the BJP in each of the last two Lok Sabha elections, say they vote with national and local issues in mind. The BJP has ruled all seven states of the national capital for two terms so far.

The Delhi CEO had made extensive arrangements, including providing refreshments and air conditioners inside polling booths, to provide comfort to voters who came out of their homes to cast their vote in scorching heat.

As voters trickled in to polling stations, party workers and Resident Welfare Associations made door-to-door visits and sent messages in WhatsApp groups urging people to turn out to vote. Many also brought refreshments, including water and soft drinks, to boost the morale of polling officials.