Picture : Twitter / ANI
Voting for the assembly elections in Delhi is underway with people queuing up outside polling booths since early Saturday morning undeterred by the chilly weather.
Over 1.47 crore people are eligible to exercise their franchise in the polls that will decide the fate of 672 candidates in 70 assembly constituencies which are seeing a triangular contest among the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), opposition BJP and the Congress.
Poll officials said 3.66 per cent votes were cast in the first hour of voting, which began at 8 am.
Former vice president Hamid Ansari and BJP national secretary Ram Lal were among those who queued up outside the Nirman Bhavan polling station in the first hour of voting.
Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, who is eyeing to repeat his party’s 2015 assembly performance, voted at the Rajpura Transport Authority polling station in the Civil Lines area.
Kejriwal, who is contesting the polls from the New Delhi seat, was accompanied by his wife Sunita and son Pulkit. Before leaving for voting, he sought his parents blessings.
President Ram Nath Kovind, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, West Delhi MP Parvesh Verma and Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari have voted.
Voted along with my family, including my first-time voter son. Urge all young voters to come out to vote. Your participation strengthens democracy. pic.twitter.com/QU8wUZ18hv
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 8, 2020
Minutes before polling began, Kejriwal tweeted, “Please go to cast vote. A special appeal to all the women – As your shoulder the responsibility at home, likewise, the responsibility of the country and Delhi is on your shoulders.”
वोट डालने ज़रूर जाइये
सभी महिलाओं से ख़ास अपील – जैसे आप घर की ज़िम्मेदारी उठाती हैं, वैसे ही मुल्क और दिल्ली की ज़िम्मेदारी भी आपके कंधों पर है। आप सभी महिलायें वोट डालने ज़रूर जायें और अपने घर के पुरुषों को भी ले जायें। पुरुषों से चर्चा ज़रूर करें कि किसे वोट देना सही रहेगा
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 8, 2020
Other prominent persons to cast their votes include , Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi arrived at Nirman Bhawan in New Delhi assembly constituency, to cast her vote. She was accompanied by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra . Rahul Gandhi left after casting his vote at a polling booth on Aurangzeb lane
