Capital to vote in high-stakes MCD elections today
NEW DELHI: The stage is set for the high-stakes civic polls in Delhi on Sunday, with poll authorities and security forces all geared up for the elections, largely being seen as a three-cornered contest among the Aam Aadmi Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress.
Over 14.5 million voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the elections to the 250 wards of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, in which 1,349 candidates are in the fray. Polling will be held from 8am to 5.30pm and the votes will be counted on December 7.
According to data shared by the State Election Commission officials, the total number of voters in Delhi is 14,505,358 — 7,893,418 males, 6,610,879 females and 1,061 transgender persons.
There are 250 wards in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
This will be the first civic election after the fresh delimitation exercise.
Authorities have set up 13,638 polling stations across Delhi for the exercise.
There were 272 wards in Delhi and three corporations — NDMC, SDMC and EDMC — in Delhi from 2012-2022, before being reunified into an MCD that formally came into existence on
May 22.
The erstwhile MCD, established in 1958, was trifurcated in 2012 during Sheila Dikshit’s tenure as the chief minister.
With the announcement of the MCD polling date on November 4 by state election commissioner Vijay Dev, the model code of conduct came into immediate effect in the national capital from that day itself.
Both the AAP and the BJP have exuded confidence that they will emerge victorious in the polls while the Congress is seeking to regain lost turf.
The high-decibel campaigning for the December 4 polls, which saw roadshows of AAP and BJP heavyweights crisscross through the national capital amid a political slugfest, concluded on Friday.
Giving campaigns of their parties one final push on Friday, BJP leaders held over 200 public meetings and roadshows, while Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia held a town hall with 400 traders to discuss issues faced by them while dealing with the civic body.
The SEC officials said poll authorities and its teams were all set for the big day on Sunday