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Delhi assembly polls: 'People will remove the corrupt', says Kejriwal

The BJP has fielded candidates in 66 constituencies, Congress and AAP are contesting from all 70 seats

ANI New Delhi

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday expressed confidence that people will root out corrupt forces from Delhi by exercising their franchise.

"Today is a very crucial day for Delhi and its people. Today, the people will root out corrupt forces from the state by exercising their franchise," Kejriwal told media here.

"The politics of the country will change now. I urge everyone to vote, "he added.

Delhi went to polls early this morning amidst tight security to prevent any untoward incident.

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.

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First Published: Dec 04 2013 | 4:01 PM IST

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