New Delhi, May 8 (Inditop) As voters of the national capital congratulated themselves Friday for having showed up in large numbers for the Lok Sabha balloting the day before, the candidates were smiling too, each one thinking the high turnout augured well for him or her.
Delhi recorded 53 percent polling for its seven Lok Sabha seats – higher than the average turnout in the last two elections to parliament.
“I am happy and I congratulate Delhi for voting in large numbers in spite of such hot weather. I would have been happier if the number had reached 60 percent,” Chetan Chauhan, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from East Delhi, told IANS.
Upscale New Delhi constituency led the way Thursday, with 55.82 of the voters turning up to exercise their franchise. In South Delhi, urban voters outnumbered their rural counterparts.
For the Chandni Chowk seat, 54.96 percent of the voters voted. Vijender Gupta, BJP candidate from Chandni Chowk, said: “I am very happy with the turnout and confident of a win by a wide margin.”
The sitting MP, Kapil Sibal of the Congress, who is seeking re-election, said: “I am extremely happy with the voter turnout. I am confident of Congress’ win in Delhi.”
The state election commission is giving the credit for the high polling percentage to its ‘Pappu’ campaign which seemed to have enthused the voters.
The ad campaign exhorted voters not to become ‘Pappus’ by not voting. It was a satire on a song from the film “Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na”, where Pappu was ridiculed for not knowing how to dance.
Satbir Silas Bedi, Delhi’s chief electoral officer, said: “Seeing the national polling trend, I am very satisfied with the way Delhi has voted. The percentage is much higher than in other Indian cities.”
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