New Delhi: The capital has witnessed a gruelling month of campaigns with 21,702 rallies conducted by BJP, AAP and Congress to woo the voters. Just as political parties compete for space mainly on parameters of poverty, women safety and development, an enthusiastic response is seen from the youth who got their finger inked with huge expectations.
Seeing the trends, on the Election Day the first hour of polling showed only 5.7% turnout, which increased to 24% till noon. A record breaking turnout is expected out of the Delhiites this time.
The excitement of getting their fingers inked coupled with the desire to elect a capable leader in the assembly elections is keeping the 1.72 lakh first time voters in the city brimming with hope. Many youngsters say they would take to the social networking sites to share their voting experience.
“We have come beyond the time when voting day was just another holiday. People are more actively involved in political news now. The campaigns run by the Election Commission and the popular media make you feel important. You feel your vote counts,” 19-year-old Ashish Kuamr, a resident of Rohini, says.
While some citizens are expected to come out to cast their vote in the later hours, at the same time others plan to enjoy their holiday and have other weekend plans.
For voters with disabilities, arrangements like wheelchair for disabled and special booths have been made available to attract maximum number of citizens to come forward and vote.
At this crucial period, every single vote might turn the party’s scenario. All efforts are being taken by the two main parties, to bring a change in the last moment decision of the voters— “Last night booze and money was distributed, people know which party did this, don’t vote for them,†said Arvind Kejriwal, National Convener of the Aam Aadmi Party while Kiran Bedi, the BJP’s presumptive chief minister, alleged that AAP workers were “forcing people” to vote for it and even abusing women at a voting booth, showing a video of a woman purportedly confirming these allegations.
A total of 1.33 crore voters have been registered in the capital, a large turnout is being expected even after few hours of voting passed which did not see a major turnout from the Delhiites.
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