MCD polls: Voters boycott 3 polling stations in Nangal Thakran ward

NEW DELHI: Three polling stations in Nangal Thakran ward in Narela block wore a deserted look as people choose to boycott Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls over lack of development.

"No votes were cast by voters at 3 polling stations (No. 17, 18, 19) in ward 31 (Nangal Thakran) due to reported boycott by the voters of these polling stations on grounds of non-development activities in their areas by political parties," the Election Commission said.

With 50 per cent of the overall voter turnout at the end of polling for the civic body took place on Sunday.

The state poll panel further stated that polling was underway beyond the scheduled closing time of 5.30 pm, at many booths across the national capital.

"The voting for 250 wards of MCD elections 2022 was conducted on December 4, 2022, and tentative voting percentage at 5.30 pm was around 50.47 per cent.

Polling continued at some polling stations after 5:30 pm where the voters had queued up inside the gates of polling premises before the scheduled time for close of polls i.e. 5:30 pm," the Commission said.

The highest voting percentage was recorded in ward no 5, Bakhtawarpur with 65.74 per cent, and the lowest was at Andrews Ganj ward with 33.47 per cent. The poll panel further said that the polling remained peaceful throughout the day and no untoward incident of any kind was reported from anywhere.

"Barring a few stray incidents of MCC violations and a couple of other scattered incidents of impersonation, the polling remained peaceful throughout the day and no untoward incident of any kind was reported from anywhere. Around 230 calls were received in the Central Control room of Delhi Police on election-related issues," it said.

The Police also seized about 280 litres of IMFL and 566 litres of country liquor on polling day. Three FIRs were registered and 3 persons were arrested in this regard.

The Police also registered ten cases under preventive action. The overall polling percentage for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections at 4 pm stood at 45 per cent (approx), which shows a lukewarm response to a high-pitched campaign by the AAP and the BJP for the Delhi civic polls, the overall voter turnout on Sunday was only about 30 per cent, a marginal improvement from an even poorer turnout of 18 per cent till 12 noon and just 9 per cent till 10.30 am.

The polling kicked off at 8 am and will end at 5:30 pm. The incumbent BJP, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress locked in a three-cornered contest for the 250 MCD wards this year. The polling process kicked off amid tight security arrangements on a chilly Sunday morning in the national capital.

Seeking to put the AAP on the defensive during the campaign phase, the BJP released several video clips purportedly showing jailed Delhi minister Satyendar Jain receiving privileged treatment behind bars. While one clip purportedly showed Jain receiving a personalized body massage, another showed the minister purportedly digging into a five-course meal.

While the BJP built its civic poll campaign around the purported clips, claiming that the Jail minister was receiving privileged treatment behind bars at Tihar jail, the AAP denied the charge saying that Jain was only being administered physiotherapy on medical advice.

Over 1.45 crore people are eligible to cast their votes in the civic polls, the state poll panel had informed earlier, adding that a total of 1,349 candidates, across parties, are in the fray this year.

The state poll panel had further informed that it had set up 13,638 polling stations for civic elections, adding that a sizeable workforce of election functionaries and security agencies had put in a lot of effort in making the necessary poll preparations. The counting of votes will be done on December 7.