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After voting concluded for the Delhi Assembly elections and exit polls predicted a comfortable majority for Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party, BJP President JP Nadda held a meeting with Delhi BJP leaders on Saturday, 8 February.
Meanwhile, Kejriwal also held a meeting at his residence on the security of EVMs, in the presence of Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, Prashant Kishor, Sanjay Singh and Gopal Rai.
The provisional voter turnout for the elections was pegged at 57.06 percent, much below the 67.12 percent figure in the 2015 elections.
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Among the key constituencies to watch out for in these elections are New Delhi, Patparganj and Chandni Chowk, among others.
In New Delhi, CM Arvind Kejriwal will face off against BJP’s Sunil Yadav and Congress’ Romesh Sabharwal.
In Patparganj, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia will be looking to hold on to his seat, fighting against BJP’s Ravi Negi and Congress’ Laxman Rawat.
The Chandni Chowk Assembly constituency will see a triangular contest between Congress’ Alka Lamba, AAP’s Prahlad Singh Sawhney and BJP’s Suman Kumar Gupta.
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Police have deployed around 40,000 security personnel, 19,000 home guards and 190 companies of Central Armed Police Forces to ensure smooth conduct of the Delhi polls on Saturday, PTI reported.
Voters start arriving at a polling station in Jhandewalan area, in Karol Bagh assembly constituency.
Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Krishna Nagar Assembly constituency, Dr Anil Goel, said, he is confident of BJP’s win. He said, “I am confident that in the next 5 years Delhi will have 'Saaf paani, saaf hawa aur saaf vyavhaar'.”
While, Delhi Deputy CM and Aam Aadmi Party candidate from Patparganj Assembly constituency Manish Sisodia said, “Today, people of Delhi will vote for better education and future for their children.”
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has cast his vote at the polling station set up at NDMC School of Science & Humanities Education at Tuglak Cresent. He said, “It is basic duty of every citizen to vote. It is important to get out there and contribute.”
Residents of Shaheen Bagh, who have been protesting against the NRC and CAA non-stop since nearly two months, stepped out to vote early on voting day.
Voters queue up at a polling booth in Shaheen Public School in Shaheen Bagh, Okhla. AAP’s Amanatullah Khan is the sitting MLA and also the candidate for this election. He is up against Congress's Parvez Hashmi and BJP's Brahm Singh Bidhuri.
The Quint spoke to Mohammed Pervez Khan, a resident at Shaheen Bagh who said people are voting for development, cleanliness and health facilities.
The Quint spoke to an early voter from Rajinder Nagar who said that despite Kejriwal’s claims of bringing development to Delhi, there’s still a lack of proper roads and highways and safety.
BJP MP Parvesh Verma casts his vote at a polling station in Matiala assembly constituency. Verma had been served a notice from the Election Commission for his communal remarks against Shaheen Bagh protesters ahead of the election.
The BJP and the Congress have fielded Rajesh Gehlot and Sumesh Shokeen from the constituency, respectively. Gulab Singh Yadav of the AAP is the current MLA and party's candidate from Matiala.
The Quint caught up with Raghav Chadha, the Aam Aadmi Party candidate from Rajinder Nagar and asked him what issues will Delhi’s citizens vote on today.
Voting has not yet begun at C10 block booth in Yamuna Vihar and booth number 114 at Sardar Patel Vidyalaya due to technical issues in the EVM. The Election Commission's technical team at the spot.
The Quint spoke to Naima and Shahzemina, residents of Shaheen Bagh to ask what matters to them on this election season.
Lt Governor Anil Baijal and his wife Mala Baijal cast their votes at a polling station at Greater Kailash where AAP's sitting MLA and candidate Saurabh Bhardwaj is contesting against BJP's Shikha Rai and Congress's Sukhbir Pawar.
Former Vice-President Hamid Ansari and senior RSS leader Ram Lal came to cast their votes at Nirman Bhawan in New Delhi assembly constituency. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal who’s also the sitting MLA is contesting from here against BJP's Sunil Yadav and Congress's Romesh Sabharwal.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met his parents to take their blessings before casting his vote.
Delhi Deputy CM and Aam Aadmi Party candidate from Patparganj Assembly constituency, Manish Sisodia and his wife Seema Sisodia cast their vote at MCD school in Pandav Nagar.
Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal spoke to The Quint after voting. She said she voted on issues of health and education.
An election officer Udham Singh deployed at a polling booth in Babarpur Primary School in Northeast Delhi has died after suffering a heart attack.
President Ram Nath Kovind and his wife Savita Kovind cast their votes at Dr Rajendra Prasad Kendriya Vidyalaya, President’s Estate.
110-years-old Kalitara Mandal, the oldest voter of Delhi, has cast her vote at SDMC Primary School, for Greater Kailash assembly constituency.
Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Singh cast their vote at Nirman Bhawan in New Delhi assembly constituency.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also came to cast his vote at polling booth number 81&82 at Aurangzeb Road.
A scuffle breaks out between AAP and Congress workers near Majnu ka Tila. Congress candidate Alka Lamba is seen trying to slap an AAP worker. AAP leader Sanjay Singh has said the party will complain to Election Commission.
Bharatiya Janata Party’s senior leader LK Advani and his daughter Pratibha Advani cast their vote at a polling booth on Aurangzeb lane.
Talking to reporters about the scuffle that broke out between her and an AAP candidate in Majnu ka Tila, Congress’ Alka Lamba said, “As soon as I came out from polling booth I saw son of AAP candidate arguing with the police over getting admission inside polling booth. At that moment, an AAP worker Harmesh used abusive language against me. Thank the police who arrested him immediately.”
Former President Pranab Mukherjee cast his vote at a polling station at Kamraj lane in New Delhi Constituency.
Senior CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat after casting his vote at Sanchar Bhawan.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh, on AAP alleging that he distributed money to influence voters, said, “I had just gone to the shop to buy some stuff. The shopkeeper is a known person. It has been done to raise an issue of Bihari vs non-Bihari,” reported ANI.
Voting underway at a polling booth in Shaheen Public School in Shaheen Bagh. AAP's Amanatullah is the sitting MLA and 2020 candidate of the party.
He is up against Congress' Parvez Hashmi and BJP's Brahm Singh Bidhuri.
Addressing the media, the Election Commission said, "The elctions today have passed off very peacefully. At some polling stations, voting is still going on."
Talking about senior citizens, he said that those who were over 80 years old, among the 2,429 who are eligibile to vote, 2,257 voted this time. It's a matter of great pride for us to be able to assist them."
"On the ground we did a lot of work, we spotted constituencies with less voter-turnout during Lok Sabha elections and we worked with groups to encourage them to vote. We also took an EVM-VVPAT awareness programme," he said.
Home Minister Amit Shah has called a meeting at 8:30 pm today at Pandit Pant Marg on Delhi elections. Party leaders including Vijay Goel, Prakash Javadekar, Hardeep Singh and Nityanand Rai will be present, reported ANI.
Manish Sisodia, Deputy chief minister of Delhi tweeted, “Voting ended! Hearty congratulations to all the part workers! They all worked from morning till late at night, and some worked 24 hours in the last days. How selfless and strong is the relationship of all of us, this election is the proof. We are winning by a huge margin. Today salute the hard work of all colleagues.”
Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal is holding a meeting at his residence on the security of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Prashant Kishor, Sanjay Singh and Gopal Rai are present in the meeting, reported ANI.
After voting concluded for the Delhi elections and exit polls predicted a comfortable majority for AAP, BJP President JP Nadda held a meeting with Delhi BJP leaders.
After a meeting at CM Kejriwal’s residence on the security of EVMs, AAP leader Sanjay Singh told the media, “EVMs that should be taken directly to the strong room after getting sealed are still with some officers. There is an incident in Babarpur. A similar incident is being reported from Vishwas Nagar… Therefore, arrangements must be made outside the strong room for our party workers and our MLAs, so that they can guard and make sure that EVMs are not tampered.”