Delhi Assembly Polls: Lt Governor Najeeb Jung casts his vote

The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Najeeb Jung, cast his vote on Wednesday, and said the high turnout in elections is proof of India's democratic nature.

"After every five years, we get to exercise our electoral right, and this proves that people are living in a democracy. The voter turnout percentage in other state elections shows us that India is a successful democracy," he said after he cast his vote.

Responding to low voter turnout in past election in Delhi, he said Delhi being the National Capital, should vote in good numbers.

On being asked about his expectations from the next government in Delhi, he said, "The new government which is formed, always tries hard for the development of the state. And, this is what we should hope for from the next government,"

Earlier, Navy Chief Admiral D K Joshi and former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Vinod Rai also cast their votes.

Over 1.19 crore voters will exercise their right to vote to elect candidates to the 70-member Delhi State Assembly. Over four lakh voters will cast their votes for the first time.

In all, 810 candidates, including 70 females are in the fray. Voting which began at 8 a.m. this morning will end at 5 p.m.

The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements to ensure free and fair polls.

Intense vigil is being maintained to keep an eye on the misuse of money and muscle power in vulnerable areas, such as slum clusters and unauthorized colonies. Efforts have also been made to keep check on people coming to Delhi from Ghaziabad, Noida, Faridabad and Gurgaon, who may cast bogus votes during the polls.

Out of 11,753 polling booths, 630 have been declared sensitive. For the first time, webcasting has been introduced in all sensitive booths for live monitoring of proceedings.

About 64,000 police personnel and 107 companies of central paramilitary forces have been deployed to ensure a smooth conduct of the polls.

The Congress, BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party are the main parties to form the next government in the state.

While BJP has fielded candidates in 66 constituencies, Congress and AAP are contesting from all 70 seats. BSP, which was the third largest party in last Assembly election, has fielded candidates at 69 seats, NCP in nine and Samajwadi Party at 27 seats.