The Hindu                  06.05.2013

Nearly 50 per cent voting in by-polls for two municipal corporation wards

About 50 per cent turnout was recorded in the by-elections held to the two municipal wards – Nangloi East and Yamuna Vihar – of Delhi Municipal Corporations, voting for which was held on Sunday. Delhi State Election Commissioner Rakesh Mehta told The Hindu that elections in both the wards were totally peaceful and no violent incident was reported. He said while the turnout was 47.1 per in the Nangloi East ward of North DMC, in the Yamuna Vihar ward in East DMC about 53.6 voters exercised their franchise.

The Nangloi East seat had fallen vacant after the death of Congress councillor Satyam Yadav, who died on November 8 last year. The election to the other constituency, Yamuna Vihar, was necessitated by the death of Councillor Vijay Bahal. She died on February 14 this year.

Being held in the same year as the Delhi Assembly elections, the by-polls to the two wards, which are reserved for women, are very crucial for both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Party sources said these elections would also provide the political pundits and the two rival parties an idea about the issues, which are high on the voters’ agenda. “At the same time, it should not be forgotten that Delhi in the past too has often voted quite differently in the municipal and Assembly elections,” said a senior politician.

As for the turnout on Sunday, it was at par with what has been witnessed in the past. In Nangloi East 27,524 voters out of a total of 58,432 came out to cast their votes. The voting was more in the Yamuna Vihar ward where 22,694 voters of the total of 42,267 turned up.