)
With the results of exit polls showing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) having an edge over the Congress in the five Assembly elections held in November and December, it is expected that markets would open firm on Thursday. However, gains could be capped as the markets had already factored in a BJP victory in most of these states.
For Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit who was attempting to make a desperate attempt to retain her government after 15 years in power, her New Delhi constituency surprisingly recorded the highest voter turnout well above 70 per cent.
Wednesday’s polls, culminates the election process in the five states with results slated for Sunday (December 8).
South Delhi, which has in the past seen low voter turnouts ascribed mainly to apathy of citizens in posh colonies, on Wednesday saw high voter turnout in areas such as Greater Kailash and RK Puram, and this is being ascribed to first time voter enthusiasm (first time voters 4.05 lakh) as well as the Election Commission efforts to ensure higher polling through cleaning up of the electoral rolls. Polling continued well past 5 pm as long voter queues compelled the EC to keep the voting process on for all those who had queued up by 5pm.
Delhi’s Chief Electoral Officer Vijay Dev confirmed that this election recorded the highest voter turnout. Speaking to reporters Dev said, “An estimated 66 % turnout till 5:30 pm in Delhi Assembly polls which were incident-free."
While Congress leaders were the first to dismiss Arvind Kejriwal and his party AAP as 'serious contenders', price rise, corruption, women's safety were issues that had the Sheila Dikshit government on the backfoot. The AAP, despite being a newbie, riding on its clean image and pitch for transparency in government had successfully managed to put the Delhi government on the defensive over increasing power tariffs accusing Dikshit of colluding with private discoms as well as the scams that dogged the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Dikshit might have been fighting a three-term anti-incumbency, but Congress leaders admit that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's two-term anti- incumbency saddled with a litany of scams, could well have rubbed off on the Dikshit government. "After all, both the Delhi government and the UPA are Congress governments and public anger against one could rub off on the other," said a Congress leader. A fact that Diskhit has been publicly disputing, claiming that there was no anti- incumbency.
These polls would also be significant in deciding the political future of Diskhit, who has for some time now been speculated to be headed for a role at the Centre. Her proximity to the Gandhi family places her a notch higher than other leaders in the party but the outcome of the polls on December 8, could well determine her future. As it is former Union minister Ajay Maken has long been pitched to fill in her shoes, should the Congress make it.
While Congress President Sonia Gandhi exuded "confidence" when asked about the party’s prospects in the Delhi Assembly, Sheila Dikshit admitted that she was keeping her fingers crossed. Most pollsters have predicted a grim prospect for the Congress while indicating a shift of the vote bank to AAP.
Ever since the BJP lost to the Congress in 1998 at the height of the onion crisis, the BJP has not managed to make a dent into the Congress bastion here. However, this time around, bolstered by the presence of its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, who campaigned extensively in the capital, the party campaign (with Harsh Vardhan as its chief ministerial candidate) has been fancying its chances. For the first time, the SAD has fielded its own candidates in Sikh dominated areas in the capital, after much tussle with its coalition partner BJP.
These polls are being as a ‘semi-final’ for the 2014 general elections, and the political repercussions are bound to echo in the Parliament as the winter session gets underway tomorrow.
A total of 1.19 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in Delhi, out of which 66.11 lakh are men and 53.20 lakh are women. 810 candidates are in the fray.
While the Congress and the AAP are contesting all the 70 seats, BJP has fielded candidates in 66 constituencies leaving the rest to SAD. The BSP which was the third largest party in the last Assembly election, has fielded candidates in 69 seats, the NCP in nine and the Samajwadi Party in 27 seats. A total of 224 independents are also in the fray.
For Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit who was attempting to make a desperate attempt to retain her government after 15 years in power, her New Delhi constituency surprisingly recorded the highest voter turnout well above 70 per cent.
Wednesday’s polls, culminates the election process in the five states with results slated for Sunday (December 8).
South Delhi, which has in the past seen low voter turnouts ascribed mainly to apathy of citizens in posh colonies, on Wednesday saw high voter turnout in areas such as Greater Kailash and RK Puram, and this is being ascribed to first time voter enthusiasm (first time voters 4.05 lakh) as well as the Election Commission efforts to ensure higher polling through cleaning up of the electoral rolls. Polling continued well past 5 pm as long voter queues compelled the EC to keep the voting process on for all those who had queued up by 5pm.
Delhi’s Chief Electoral Officer Vijay Dev confirmed that this election recorded the highest voter turnout. Speaking to reporters Dev said, “An estimated 66 % turnout till 5:30 pm in Delhi Assembly polls which were incident-free."
While Congress leaders were the first to dismiss Arvind Kejriwal and his party AAP as 'serious contenders', price rise, corruption, women's safety were issues that had the Sheila Dikshit government on the backfoot. The AAP, despite being a newbie, riding on its clean image and pitch for transparency in government had successfully managed to put the Delhi government on the defensive over increasing power tariffs accusing Dikshit of colluding with private discoms as well as the scams that dogged the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Dikshit might have been fighting a three-term anti-incumbency, but Congress leaders admit that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's two-term anti- incumbency saddled with a litany of scams, could well have rubbed off on the Dikshit government. "After all, both the Delhi government and the UPA are Congress governments and public anger against one could rub off on the other," said a Congress leader. A fact that Diskhit has been publicly disputing, claiming that there was no anti- incumbency.
These polls would also be significant in deciding the political future of Diskhit, who has for some time now been speculated to be headed for a role at the Centre. Her proximity to the Gandhi family places her a notch higher than other leaders in the party but the outcome of the polls on December 8, could well determine her future. As it is former Union minister Ajay Maken has long been pitched to fill in her shoes, should the Congress make it.
While Congress President Sonia Gandhi exuded "confidence" when asked about the party’s prospects in the Delhi Assembly, Sheila Dikshit admitted that she was keeping her fingers crossed. Most pollsters have predicted a grim prospect for the Congress while indicating a shift of the vote bank to AAP.
Ever since the BJP lost to the Congress in 1998 at the height of the onion crisis, the BJP has not managed to make a dent into the Congress bastion here. However, this time around, bolstered by the presence of its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, who campaigned extensively in the capital, the party campaign (with Harsh Vardhan as its chief ministerial candidate) has been fancying its chances. For the first time, the SAD has fielded its own candidates in Sikh dominated areas in the capital, after much tussle with its coalition partner BJP.
These polls are being as a ‘semi-final’ for the 2014 general elections, and the political repercussions are bound to echo in the Parliament as the winter session gets underway tomorrow.
A total of 1.19 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in Delhi, out of which 66.11 lakh are men and 53.20 lakh are women. 810 candidates are in the fray.
While the Congress and the AAP are contesting all the 70 seats, BJP has fielded candidates in 66 constituencies leaving the rest to SAD. The BSP which was the third largest party in the last Assembly election, has fielded candidates in 69 seats, the NCP in nine and the Samajwadi Party in 27 seats. A total of 224 independents are also in the fray.
