Voting begins for Rajinder Nagar bypoll in Delhi

By PTI

NEW DELHI: Voting started Thursday morning for the bypoll to Rajinder Nagar in Delhi, largely being seen as a battle between a assured AAP and a spirited BJP for the essential meeting constituency.

A complete of 1,64,698 voters are eligible to train their franchise within the by-election, wherein 14 candidates are within the fray, with water scarcity and town authorities’s liquor coverage among the many key election points.

The two main contenders — the AAP and the BJP have exuded confidence that their candidates will emerge victorious within the bypoll with an enormous margin. Polling started at 7 am amid tight safety preparations and is scheduled to be held until 6 pm.

“Mock polls were held at all polling stations, and voting has begun under tight security arrangements for the Rajinder Nagar bypoll. Actor Sonam Kapoor has released a video message to appeal to voters to exercise their franchise,” Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh informed PTI.

To elevate consciousness, Bollywood actor Sonam Kapoor has been chosen as an icon, and her pictures have been used on posters and social media to succeed in out to larger variety of voters, particularly the youth.

Six firms of CAPF (Central Armed Police Forces) personnel have been deployed for safety preparations in the course of the bypoll necessitated within the wake of AAP chief Raghav Chadha leaving the seat after being elected to the Rajya Sabha just lately.

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Chadha was the MLA from the Rajinder Nagar Assembly seat. The Counting of votes will happen on June 26, and ballot authorities listed below are hopeful that turnout on this bypoll will exceed the voting share recorded within the 2020 election.

In the 2020 polls, the voter turnout in Rajinder Nagar was 58.27 per cent — 58.09 per cent male voters and 58.5 per cent feminine voters.

In addition to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress candidates, there are three others from unrecognised events and eight Independent nominees.

A complete of 190 polling stations, together with 13 auxiliary ones, have been arrange at 21 places, outfitted with all mandatory services and facilities for differently-abled individuals too resembling ramps and consuming water, in addition to creches for moms if they arrive to vote with their youngsters.

Of the entire variety of eligible voters for the bypoll, 92,221 are male, 72,473 feminine and 4 belong to the third gender. Also, 1,899 voters on this meeting seat are within the 18-19 age group.

The variety of eligible voters within the Rajinder Nagar meeting seat for the 2022 bypoll is lower than the rely of electors on this meeting seat that was for the 2020 Delhi Assembly elections, as dying and migration of voters have been factored in.

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AAP, which enjoys a reigning reputation on this key meeting constituency, has fielded Durgesh Pathak whereas BJP has fronted Rajesh Bhatia as its candidate. Prem Lata is the Congress nominee.

While AAP has exuded confidence that it’s going to register a “record victory” within the bypoll and hand out a crushing defeat to the BJP, the saffron social gathering is hopeful of westing the seat from the ruling social gathering that had bagged 62 of the 70 seats within the 2020 Delhi polls.

From organising specialised polling stations, together with an all-women one, to deployment of safety personnel and working consciousness campaigns, the Delhi CEO workplace has made all preparations to make sure that the bypoll is held in an inclusive, accessible and truthful method.

According to the residents of the world, the AAP authorities’s liquor coverage and water scarcity are among the many foremost points within the bypoll. The bypoll is happening amid a spike in Covid-19 circumstances within the nationwide capital.

All security norms will likely be adopted, and hand sanitisers and masks would even be saved in any respect cubicles, in case some has forgot to carry them, officers stated.

“For visually-impaired voters, facilities have been created too. The EVM machines will have Braille markings and also on dummy ballot to allow a voter with visual impairment to cast his or her vote independently. Even voters slip will have Braille markings to facilitate them,” Delhi Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Ranbir Singh had earlier stated.

There are 591 electors, who’re individuals with incapacity, 39 voters are visually impaired, 64 are service voters, and a pair of,486 voters who’re within the age group of 80 and above.