Over 1.10 lakh first-time voters in MCD polls

New Delhi: More than 1.10 lakh first-time voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the upcoming municipal elections in Delhi.

Elections to the 272 wards of the three BJP-ruled civic bodies will be held on April 23. Of the 1,10,639 new voters, 24,825 are those who have recently turned 18, according to Delhi state election commissioner S.K. Srivastava.

As per the fresh delimitation exercise, each ward now has an average of 60,000 people with an estimated 40,000 voters. Delhi has 70 Assembly seats and before the boundaries of civic bodies were redrawn, each constituency had four wards. But now, it ranges from 3-7.

The State Election Commission is running awareness campaigns, in print, and on radio and television to encourage people to exercise their franchise in this election for the 272 ward councillors.

While the North Delhi Municipal Corporation and South Delhi Municipal Co-rporation have 104 wards each, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation has 64.

It will be the first time in civic polls that none of the above (NOTA) option will be available, Mr Srivastava said. Most of the wards have around 15 candidates in fray.

The BJP, which has been ruling the MCD for the last 10 years, is contesting the polls with only fresh faces. It had denied tickets to its 153 sitting councilors. After the win in the recent Rajouri Garden by poll, the saffron party is seeking to retain its turf. The Congr-ess, which finished second, is hoping to revive itself.

The polls are being seen as a referendum on the two-year governance of the Kejriwal government.

Despite its crushing defeat in the by polls, Mr Kejriwal-led AAP is hoping to replicate its 2015 Delhi Assembly performance. Mr Kejriwal had earlier insisted that the AAP’s defeat in the by election that the results should not be seen as a “trailer of the MCD polls”.

Out of the total 1,32,10,206 eligible voters, 73,15,915 are men, 58,93,418 are women and 793 voters are in the other category.