Voters complain that EVMs at booth No. 120 SP Mukherjee School CR Park not working. (Photo credit: @AlokKNMishraTOI) NEW DELHI: Voting, that was scheduled to start at 7 am, began late at some booths in the national capital on Sunday. Delhi Home Minister Satyendar Jain said that voting started 50 minutes late at three polling booths. "Voting started at 7.50 am at 3 booths of Railway Jhuggi, Shakurbasti," he tweeted. However, there was no immediate response from the Chief Electoral Office. Shashi Devi, a 58-year-old resident of Mayur Vihar I, said that she and her son were made to wait for 20 minutes by officials at a polling booth. "My son and I came to cast our votes to avoid the heat, but after reaching the polling booth at 7 am, we were asked to wait for 20 minutes as officials were still in the process of starting polling," Devi said. Another voter, Rahul Sharma, had to wait to for half an hour outside the polling booth of his area to cast his vote. Among the early voters in the national capital were former chief minister Sheila Dikshit, Congress's New Delhi candidate Ajay Maken, Union minister Harsh Vardhan, BJP's East Delhi candidate Gautam Gambhir, and BJP national general secretary (organisation) Ram Lal. Over 1.43 crore people in Delhi are eligible to vote in this election which will decide the fate of 164 candidates, of which 18 are women. There are 43 independent candidates. While 2,54,723 voters are in the age group of 18 and 19, there are 40,532 electorate with disability who would be provided pick up and drop facility.<doc-sep>DMRC train services otherwise begin at 6 am DMRC train services otherwise begin at 6 am Delhi Metro train services will begin from 4 am, two hours earlier than regular timing, on May 12 so that the staff deployed for election duty can avail the facility for travelling, officials said Thursday. DMRC train services otherwise begin at 6 am “On the day of the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi on Sunday, May 12, the Delhi Metro train services on all lines will start from 4 am, so that the staff deployed for election duty can avail the facility,” the DMRC said in a statement. The trains will run with a frequency of 30 minutes on all the lines till 6 am. Later, metro trains will run as per the normal Sunday timetable throughout the day, it said. However, trains on the Blue Line, going from Dwarka Sector 21 towards Vaishali, will begin operations at 4.30 am. Delhi Metro’s current span is 373 km and 271 stations, including the Noida-Greater Noida Aqua Line, and its average daily ridership is about 30 lakh.<doc-sep>People know 'Modi hai toh mumkin hai', says Delhi BJP leader "In the entire country, elections are being contested over the issue of nationalism. People have forgotten about issues in their areas and localities. People talk about the nation and believe that Pakistan can only be dealt with by one man. Hence, all other issues are forgotten but people always remember that ‘Modi hai toh mumkin hai’," said Ajay Bharadwaj, District Head of BJP’s Chandni Chowk unit. Centenarian Kitabun Nisa was picked up from her home, taken to the polling booth in Sangam Vihar, Assembly Constituency number 49 and dropped back Leaders' apathy forces Chandni Chowk residents to choose NOTA A voter in Chandni Chowk, where BJP’s Harsh Vardhan, Congress’ Jai Prakash Agarwal and AAP’s Pankaj Kumar Gupta are in the fray, said none of the leaders visit the area and only meet voters when seeking votes for elections. Another voter echoed this sentiment, adding that NOTA is the only option for voters. A disgruntled voter said that none of the three big parties - BJP, Congress or AAP - have done any real development work in Chandni Chowk. “Young voters say they are disillusioned by fake promises and are choosing NOTA. No councillor or minister has come here. All parties are thieves,” a man said. Local resident Shikha jain, voiced strong support for Congress. “Jay Prakash Agarwal is being supported in the area. What the Congress is doing since 60-70 years, other parties have not done. Roads, bridges, universities are all Congress’ doing. Which school, university did the BJP start?” she asked. Meanwhile, Dr Bharti, who runs a sweet shop, said that the election is a national one and requires voters to analyse the performance of parties and leaders from the national perspective. “India is surrounded by enemies and BJP and its leader Narendra Modi have taken good steps in that regard,” he said. Inputs by Pallavi Rebbapragada Sheila Dikshit’s candidature may split Muslim vote in North East Delhi, say Jafrabad voters In Jagatpuri, where Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari, former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, and AAP's Dilip Pandey are contesting, a voter said that the issue of statehood taken up by the Arvind Kejriwal-led party is a waste of time. “I have voted for the party that I think will ensure cleanliness and lesser traffic in Delhi,” he said. Hamid Khan, a resident of Jafrabad, opined that Sheila Dikshit’s entry into the battlefield in Delhi has made it tougher for AAP to secure the Muslim vote in the constituency. Saif Ali, who supports AAP, and Mohammed Ali, who supports the Congress, said that the issue in the area is unemployment in the formal sector. Meanwhile, AAP supporters said that Sheila Dikshit’s age and infirm health makes her unfit to serve the 22 lakh voters in the constituency. “AAP has transformed this area. This school was a ‘tent wala school’ and has been transformed into a proper building called Zeenat Mahal by the AAP,” a supporter said. Inputs by Pallavi Rebbapragada, Kangkan Acharyya Delhi Lok Sabha Election 2019 Latest Update #DelhiVotes: A look at how the National Capital voted till 7 pm The National Capital recorded a turnout of over 55.66 percent by 7 pm on Sunday, with Chandni Chowk registering the maximum voting percentage among seven constituencies. The stage is set as the national capital goes to Lok Sabha polls on Sunday where the incumbent BJP, Delhi's ruling AAP and the Congress are locked in a triangular fight on all seven seats. The Congress is looking to bounce back after ending up at the third spot in the 2014 elections, while the Aam Aadmi Party will fight tooth and nail to secure its home ground after a tumultuous five-year reign which saw it clash with the Centre and the Lieutenant Governor on several occasions. "Why do you spread rumours about my health? If you have nothing better to do, come over to have a meal. You will see how I am doing, have a meal and learn to fight elections without spreading rumours," she wrote in Hindi. Sheila Dikshit, the Congress candidate from North-East Delhi constituency and the party's chief ministerial candidate, called over Arvind Kejriwal for a meal, but only if he "had nothing better to do". Tagging Kejriwal in a tweet, she highlighted three "benefits" to Kejriwal if he accepted the invite. Sheila Dikshit invites Kejriwal for a meal, if he has nothing better to do "My family taught me to respect elders," he said, replying to Ms Dikshit's tweet, adding that he never commented on her health. Wishing her good health and calling back to the time he had paid the octogenarian Congress leader a visit before she had left for France last year to receive treatment for a heart condition, Kejriwal "accepted" Ms Dikshit's invite, asking her for a time and date. Claiming that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was spreading rumours about her health, Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit extended a 'special' invitation to him on Saturday, with three-fold benefits. Sheila said that Kejriwal can enjoy a meal, learn how to contest polls without gossiping, and also witness first-hand that she is fit and fine. BJP's Pravesh Verma is the incumbent MP from this seat. He is contesting against Congress' Mahabal Mishra and AAP's Balbir Singh Jakhar. On Saturday night some local BJP leaders have assured to solve their problems, however Prahlad Singh a resident of colony said all the major parties have ignored their vital issues, but since BJP has assured us to solve the issue, we will vote on 12 May. Residents of Geetanjali Park Colony in West Delhi have threatened to boycott Lok Sabha elections over the ongoing water crisis. Some of them said they might opt for NOTA. BJP's East Delhi Candidate Gautam Gambhir cast an early vote in Delhi along with his parents and wife. Gambhir is BJP's East Delhi candidate and is fielded against AAP's Atishi. The seat, comprising a mixed population of urban villages and unauthorised colonies, is set to witness a tough tussle between BJP, Congress and AAP.<doc-sep>An Indian Muslim woman shows her ink-marked finger after casting her vote at a polling station in Bhopal. GAGAN NAYAR/AFP/Getty Images Polling is coming to a close in India's penultimate phase of elections, where 100 million people were eligible to cast their votes and candidates battled it out across key constituencies in the north and northeast of the country, including the capital New Delhi. Next Sunday, May 19, will mark the final and seventh phase of this endurance test in democracy. Voting will take place in eight states across 59 constituencies, with the entire state of Punjab voting for the first and only time. After more than five weeks, polling in the world's biggest elections will be over and the people will have chosen India's next prime minister. All will be revealed on May 23, when the Election Commission announces the official results.<doc-sep>
India is going to sixth phase of polling on Sunday in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, which will decide the fate of several prominent candidates. National capital Delhi votes tomorrow along with six other states. In Delhi, voting will be held in all seven seats, from where 164 candidates are in the fray. BJP had won all these seats in the 2014 elections, but it’s likely to see a tough battle this time in a three-cornered fight with the AAP and the Congress pitting strong candidates. There are over 14 crore registered voters in Delhi, of whom more than 2.5 lakh are first-time voters, while over 40,000 are differently-abled. The voting will begin at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm. According to the Delhi Election Commission, one “model polling station” will be there in each of the 70 Assembly segments while 17 polling stations will be staffed only by women. All arrangements have been made for smooth conduct of the single-phase election in Delhi. Nearly 61,000 security personnel, including Home Guards and paramilitary forces personnel, have been deployed across the national capital, according to Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik. As many as 47 companies comprising of 100 paramilitary personnel each would also be deployed to avoid any untoward incident. Of the total 13,819 polling booths at 2,700 locations, 450 booths have been identified as “critical” where static surveillance team and flying squad team have been deployed to keep a close watch. Security personnel have been deployed at polling booths and special reserve parties and policemen are patrolling in vulnerable areas. The Police Control Room Unit will also stay alert to calls of any complaints being made, especially relating to the election process, police said. “The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is being strictly enforced. There is a special watch on border areas to foil any attempt to infiltrate by anti-social elements to cause disruption,” Patnaik said. Delhi has been declared a “dry day” on Sunday, starting from 5 pm on Saturday. Police said even bar owners located in border areas of Noida had been asked to close. Anti-terror measures are in place and special arrangements made to check sabotage of polling booths, including election rigging, according to Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) and Delhi Police spokesperson Madhur Verma. He said extra picket teams have been deployed in border areas too. “Briefings were held with the polling staff on dispersal of EVMs and the routes to be taken to ensure no rigging of EVMs occurs on the way. Night patrolling has been intensified to check use of muscle power and money to lure voters,” Verma said. The police said they received as many as 40 complaints of Model Code of Conduct violations from various political parties and action was taken accordingly. Bus, Delhi Metro timings changed Bus and Delhi Metro services will start early morning on Sunday. The Delhi Transport Corporation will run its services from 4 am on Sunday on 35 major routes across the city. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) too will start operations from 4 am instead of 6 am on most routes. Trains on the Blue Line — from Dwarka Sector 21 towards Vaishali and Noida — will run from 4.30 am. “On the day of the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi on Sunday, May 12, the Delhi Metro train services on all lines will start from 4 am, so that the staff deployed for election duty can avail the facility,” said a DMRC statement. The frequency will 6 am will be 30 minutes on all lines, after which the trains will follow the normal Sunday timetable. READ | Lok Sabha elections 2019 Phase 6 | Key constituencies, contenders in 7 states Delhi Votes: All you need to know Number of constituencies: 7 Names of constituencies: Chandni Chowk, North East Delhi, East Delhi, New Delhi, North West Delhi, West Delhi, South Delhi Total Number of voters: 14,316,453 Number of male voters: 7873022 Number of female voters: 6442762 Number of third gender voters: 669 Number of contesting candidates: 164 Number of polling stations: 13,819 Delhi key contests East Delhi: Gautam Gambhir of BJP versus Arvinder Singh Lovely of Congress versus AAP’s Atishi North East Delhi: BJP’s Manoj Tiwari versus Sheila Dikshit of Congress versus Dilip Pandey of AAP New Delhi: BJP’s Meenakshi Lekhi versus Congress’ Ajay Maken versus AAP’s Brijesh Goyal CLICK FOR MORE 2019 ELECTION NEWS