New Delhi: The Bawana assembly bypoll saw a 45 per cent turnout on Wednesday, with the three main contenders -- the BJP, AAP and the Congress -- hoping for a victory in the election, being seen as the barometer of their political influence.
The voting percentage was much lower than in the 2015 Assembly election in the constituency in which 61.83 per cent voting percentage was registered. The officials conjectured that multiple elections taking place in the city in quick succession could be a factor for the low turnout in Bawana, adding that voter turnout was "generally low" in bypolls.
Polling officials said an EVM and 17 VVPAT equipment malfunctioned and were replaced without any hindrance to voting.
Nearly three lakh people were eligible to cast votes at 379 polling stations set up across the constituency in north-west Delhi.
Results of the bypoll will be announced on August 28. Though the AAP enjoys an overwhelming majority in the assembly, a victory in the bypoll would be a shot in the arm for the party after successive setbacks in the civic polls, the Rajouri Garden assembly by-election and the assembly elections in Punjab and Goa. It has fielded Ram Chander from the constituency.
The BJP, which has just four members in the 70-member assembly, hopes to maintain its winning streak in the national capital where it is working hard to make a comeback.
The other major contender is of the Congress, which is trying hard to open its account after being relegated to zero in the 70-member Delhi Legislative Assembly. The Congress has fielded its former three-time MLA from Bawana, Surender Kumar.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues and top AAP leaders campaigned hectically in the constituency.
The BJP has fielded Ved Prakash, who won from Bawana in 2015 Assembly elections as an AAP candidate. He resigned from the MLA post and quit the AAP to join the BJP in March this year.
EVMs equipped with voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) will be used in the bypoll, said a statement from the Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi.
The number of male, female and third gender electors are 1,64,114; 1,30,143; and 25, respectively. The average number of voters per polling station stands at 776.
The voting percentage was much lower than in the 2015 Assembly election in the constituency in which 61.83 per cent voting percentage was registered. The officials conjectured that multiple elections taking place in the city in quick succession could be a factor for the low turnout in Bawana, adding that voter turnout was "generally low" in bypolls.
Polling officials said an EVM and 17 VVPAT equipment malfunctioned and were replaced without any hindrance to voting.
Results of the bypoll will be announced on August 28. Though the AAP enjoys an overwhelming majority in the assembly, a victory in the bypoll would be a shot in the arm for the party after successive setbacks in the civic polls, the Rajouri Garden assembly by-election and the assembly elections in Punjab and Goa. It has fielded Ram Chander from the constituency.
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The other major contender is of the Congress, which is trying hard to open its account after being relegated to zero in the 70-member Delhi Legislative Assembly. The Congress has fielded its former three-time MLA from Bawana, Surender Kumar.
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The BJP has fielded Ved Prakash, who won from Bawana in 2015 Assembly elections as an AAP candidate. He resigned from the MLA post and quit the AAP to join the BJP in March this year.
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The number of male, female and third gender electors are 1,64,114; 1,30,143; and 25, respectively. The average number of voters per polling station stands at 776.
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