Rajouri Garden bypoll witnesses lukewarm response, technical snags
The voter turnout was recorded at 47 percent and no untoward incidents were reported
There were snags reported in voter-verifiable paper audit trail machines at multiple booths and one EVM; however, Chief Electoral Officer Chandra Bhushan Kumar denied the claims
NEW DELHI: The by-election for Rajouri Garden Assembly constituency on Sunday witnessed lukewarm reception, as voter turnout figures across the 166 polling stations revealed that more than 50 percent voters preferred not to vote.
The final voter turnout in Rajouri Garden was reported to be around 47 percent and polling at deserted booths remained peaceful and there were no reports of any untoward incident.
There were, however, snags in voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines at multiple booths and one EVM
According to Chief Electoral Officer Chandra Bhushan Kumar, VVPAT machines, which were used across the 166 polling stations of the constituency, had to be changed in around 38 places.
“The polling was peaceful and there were no reports of any untoward incident,” Kumar said.
He also dismissed the Aam Aadmi Party’s claim that the election office has been ‘lax’ in replacing faulty machines at a few voting centres.
It may be mentioned that the first few hours saw very few people turning up, with only around 11.02 percent of the nearly 1.6 lakh electorate trooping out to exercise their franchise till 11 am.
At 3 pm, the turnout was at 35 percent and it went up to 44 percent at 5 pm. By 6 pm, the turnout was 47 percent.
During the 2013 Assembly election, the constituency had recorded 68 percent voting, while in the 2015 election the turnout was 72 percent.
The Rajouri Garden bypoll is important for all the three parties – for AAP to clear the muck surrounding them, for the Bharatiya Janata Party to claw their way into the Delhi Assembly as they hold only three seats, and for the Congress to open their account
Three-time former Rajouri Garden MLA and current Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken, who was among the early voters, said the bypoll was a referendum on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s two-year rule and claimed his party candidate Meenakshi Chandela will clinch the seat.
Chandela, who had faced defeat in the 2015 Assembly polls, said Congress was all set to open its account in the Delhi Assembly, where it has no presence since 2015.
The Bjp-shiromani Akali Dal combine candidate Manjinder Singh Sirsa said turnout usually remains low during bypolls.
“It is not a matter of concern. The AAP will be relegated to the fourth spot. Congress will be the runner-up. There is not an iota of doubt that BJPSAD combine will bag the seat,” he said.
AAP candidate Harjeet Singh blamed the “confusion” over poll date for the low turnout.
However, he exuded confidence about pulling off a victory, saying that people understand that having an MLA from the ruling party was essential for the area’s holistic development.
The seat fell vacant early this year after AAP’S Jarnail Singh quit as MLA to contest Punjab Assembly poll against SAD patron Parkash Singh Badal, only to lose and considerably dent AAP’S chances of holding on to the seat.