Delhi falls well short of 2015 record with turnout of 61.5%

NEW DELHI: The turnout in Delhi for the assembly election fell short of its record in 2015 when AAP had bagged 67 seats out of 70. It was a sunny Saturday but voting was sluggish till afternoon. According to the latest figure available with the EC, which is subject to revision, the turnout stood at 61.5%, against 67.1% in 2015 when AAP recorded a spectacular victory.

The voter turnout in the capital had been consistently going up since 1998 when just about 49% of the electorate had stepped out to cast votes. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, 60.6% voters had exercised their franchise. Delhi election officials said though the voter turnout had crossed the 2019 parliamentary election figure, it won't reach anywhere close to the 2015 one.

Interestingly, in absolute terms, some 1.62 lakh more people voted on Saturday as compared with the 2015 polls.


Accepting that the voter turnout was less than expected, election officials said it was too early to look for reasons. "Several factors contribute to the voter turnout. We are still waiting for the final numbers and won't comment on it yet," said chief electoral officer of Delhi Ranbir Singh.

While final numbers are still being computed, Seelampur in northest Delhi reported the largest turnout of 71.4% followed by 70.6% in Mustafabad assembly segment. Delhi Cantonment witnessed the least number of people coming out to vote at 41.3% followed by Chhattarpur with 46.5%.

Though it was a triangular contest in most seats, the battle was essentially between AAP and BJP. AAP had sought votes on the work its government had done in health, education, water and other sectors, including giving free power, water and bus rides to women. BJP made it essentially an election on national security and nationalism. It highlighted the protests against the amended citizenship law, abrogation of Article 370 and 35A, the SC judgment in the Ram temple case and surgical strikes on Pakistan.