Delhi set for high-stakes MCD polls

Officials exit booth after collecting the polling materials on the eve of MCD elections in Delhi on Saturday. Pic/PTI

The stage is set for the high-stakes civic polls in Delhi today, with poll authorities and security forces all geared up for the elections, largely being seen as a three-way contest among the AAP, the BJP and the Congress.

Over 1.45 crore electors 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 8 am to 5.30 pm 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 1,45,05,358 - 78,93,418 males, 66,10,879 females and 1,061 transgender persons. There are 250 wards in MCD. This will be the first civic election after the fresh delimitation exercise, and the poll will be held days after the first phase of the Gujarat assembly elections, and a day ahead of its second phase. Authorities have set up 13,638 polling stations across Delhi for the exercise.

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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 criss-cross 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.

This is also the first civic polls being held in the national capital after the February 2020 riots in Delhi, and as per data shared by officials, 3360 booths, spanning 493 locations, have been identified in sensitive categories. To ensure hassle-free civic polls on December 4, the Delhi Police will deploy 40,000 security personnel at every nook and corner of the national capital. "A total of 20,000 security personnel of home guards have also been asked from the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana for the election duty," said an official.

Sisodia: ‘BJP turned Delhi into garbage mound'

Ahead of polls in Delhi, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday slammed the BJP for turning the national capital into a ‘'mound of garbage''. "The BJP was in power in MCD for 15 years and it turned Delhi into a capital of garbage mounds and stray animals. This time, people will choose Arvind Kejriwal for MCD to make Delhi clean and beautiful," he claimed.

1,349
No. of candidates running in the MCD polls in Delhi

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