A total of 1.5 crore eligible Delhi voters sealed the fate of 699 candidates in the Assembly election on Wednesday to pick a new 70-member House with the turnout hovering around 60% till reports last came in at 6 pm, an official said. &nbsp;
The results will be declared on February 8.
The turnout touched 57.70% by 5 pm with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) eyeing a fourth straight win and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) putting up a tough fight to return to power after 1998.
The 11-hour voting remained largely peaceful while some sporadic complaints of bogus voting and model code violation continued to be made throughout the day.
The turnout in the 2020 Delhi Assembly election stood at 62.82%, 4.65% lower than 67.47% in 2015.
Earlier in the day, there was a brief commotion at a polling booth in Seelampur where a bogus voter was caught casting a vote on someone else&rsquo;s identity. The incident occurred at Aryan Public School, Booth Level Officer, Seelampur, Gayatri, said.
BJP nominee from the seat, Anil Gaur, accused the rival Congress and the AAP of bringing 300-400 fake voters from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.
Special Commissioner of Police DC Srivastava confirmed getting complaints of attempted bogus voting. "Two persons have been detained on the allegation of bogus voting. The facts are being verified."
On Wednesday, Delhi&rsquo;s 1.5 crore eligible voters were choosing from 699 candidates, 603 men and 95 women, in a direct fight between the ruling AAP, the BJP and the Congress.
Till 5 pm, Mustafabad seat recorded the highest turnout of 66.68% followed by Seelampur with 66.41%.
The New Delhi seat of AAP convenor and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal recorded a turnout of 54.27% by 5 pm. The Greater Kailash seat of Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj recorded 52% voting, Rajinder Nager recorded 57.88%, Patel Nagar 54.63%, RK Puram 51.81% and Delhi Cantonment seat recorded 57% voting till 5 pm.
Chief Minister Atishi&rsquo;s constituency Kalkaji recorded a turnout of 51.81% till 5 pm. Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia&rsquo;s Jungpura seat recorded 55.23% voting till 5 pm.
Other turnout trends till 5 pm were Sangam Vihar 57.41%, Badarpur 54.51%, Tughlakabad 53%, Okhla 52.77%, Kasturba Nagar 51.70%, Malviya Nager 52.07%, Chhatarpur 60.53%, Ambedkar Nagar 56.98%, Deoli 56.8% and Mehrauli 50.59%.
Till 5 pm, the turnout in Central Delhi's Matia Mahal was 61.40%, Ballimaran 59.56%, Burari 56.16%, Sadar Bazar 57.06%, Timarpur 53.29%, Karol Bagh 47.40%, Chandni Chowk 52.76%.
In West Delhi, the turnout till 5 pm in Janakpuri was 59.28%, Rajouri Garden 58.96%, Madipur 58.13%, Hari Nagar 57.92%, Moti Nagar 55.21%, Nangloi Jat 56.20% and Tilak Nagar 56.65%.
AAP&rsquo;s Jangpura nominee Sisodia alleged that rival parties were giving money to voters, a charge which was dismissed by police as &lsquo;unsubstantiated&rsquo;.
His party colleague and AAP MP Raghav Chadha alleged that at many polling booths in the New Delhi constituency, the party&rsquo;s polling agents and their relievers faced problems in entry.
AAP MP Sandeep Pathak raised the issue of slow voting in some constituencies, claiming that the party has raised the matter with the EC. His complaint was endorsed by the party candidate from Okhla seat, Amanatullah Khan who alleged voting was carried out at a slow pace.
Union Minister Harsh Malhotra accused the AAP of trying to use goons and money on the eve of the election to influence voters. "They want a street fight and vitiate the atmosphere out of fear of a big loss," he said.
On the eve of voting, the Delhi Police seized ₹23.76 lakh, six illegal firearms and 4,119 litres of illegal liquor, said a police official.
Earlier, former Chief Minister and AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal and his wife gave up their car and walked down to their polling booth. Both of them escorted their parents, both in wheelchairs, to the booth at a school close to their Ferozeshah Road residence.
Kejriwal&rsquo;s BJP rival Parvesh Verma performed religious rituals on the Yamuna bank before proceeding to cast his vote with his wife and daughter at the Nirman Bhawan booth.
Congress candidate from New Delhi Sandeep Dikshit cast his vote at a polling booth on Rahim Khan Road and later accompanied voters from the party and members of the Gandhi family&mdash;Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra&mdash;to their respective booths.
The turnout in the 2020 Delhi Assembly election stood at 62.82%, 4.65% lower than 67.47% in 2015. In 2013, the turnout was 66.02%, 8.42% higher than 2008&rsquo;s 57.6%.
In 2020, the AAP won 62 out of 70 seats with a vote share of 53.57%. The BJP won eight seats with a 38.51% vote share. The Congress got 4.26% of votes and others polled 3.66% votes. In 2015, the AAP won 67 seats, getting 54.6% vote share.
&mdash;IANS&nbsp;

Voters await their turn in a queue at a polling centre in New Delhi

Overall voter turnout for the Assembly elections touched 57.70% by 5 pm; results to be declared on Feb 8

Delhi Polls: Fate of 699 Candidates Sealed as Voting Ends

Overall voter turnout for the Assembly elections touched 57.70% by 5 pm; results to be declared on Feb 8

February 5, 2025 | 19:28 IST