Lok Sabha polls: How did Delhi vote?

Standing huddled outside a voting booth near a college in New Delhi’s Kalkaji were several women discussing their vote. A south Indian just ahead of them said, “who else would we vote for but the BJP”, but a few other women, who did not wish to be named, said "we have voted for education and jobs. Our children need jobs".

Delhi voted in the sixth phase of the election yesterday, 25 May, for all its seven Parliamentary seats. The ruling BJP had won all seven in the general elections in both 2014 and 2019. This time, the BJP is contesting on its own against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-Congress alliance. 

In Kalkaji, which falls under South Delhi constituency, the BJP has fielded Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and AAP has fielded Sahi Ram Pehalwan as part of the INDIA bloc.

The seven seats in Delhi are New Delhi, North West Delhi, West Delhi, North East Delhi, East Delhi, South Delhi and Chandni Chowk.

AAP has fielded Kuldeep Kumar from the East Delhi seat, Mahabal Mishra from West Delhi, Somnath Bharti from New Delhi and Sahi Ram Pahalwan from South Delhi. The Congress has nominated J.P. Agarwal from the Chandni Chowk seat, Kanhaiya Kumar from North East Delhi and Udit Raj from the North West Delhi constituency.

The BJP candidates are Manoj Tiwari from North East Delhi, the only sitting MP from Delhi who has fielded by the party again; Ramvir Singh Bidhuri from South Delhi, Bansuri Swaraj from New Delhi, Harsh Deep Malhotra from East Delhi, Yogendra Chandolia from North West Delhi, Praveen Khandelwal from Chandni Chowk and Kamaljeet Sehrawat from West Delhi. 

In New Delhi constituency, where three-term MLA from Malviya Nagar Somnath Bharti of AAP is contesting against Bansuri Swaraj, the daughter of late external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and former Mizoram governor Swaraj Kaushal, the voters are torn between Bharti, who is available round the clock, and a newcomer.

“In the morning, several traditional BJP voters came to cast their votes, but by mid-day, youngsters came in large numbers. It is not one-sided, as several of the youngsters came to vote for AAP,” said Susanta Deb, a C.R. Park voter. He went on to add that it is not an easy walk for Bansuri as Somnath has worked on the ground and youngsters want change.

As per usual, the New Delhi constituency had the lowest voting percentage of 50.44 per cent up until 5 pm.

Chandni Chowk is another constituency where former MP J.P. Agarwal is putting up a good fight. Voters from the Dilli 6 area said they were voting for jobs and education. For Sabiha, Shaista and Rumana, it was the Mahalakshmi scheme of the Congress that  got their attention the most. “We want jobs and education,” Sabiha added. It was the same for Anas too, who was voting in a general election for the first time.

Faiz in the Ballimaran area categorically said, “Modi hatao, desh bachao”. For him, it was important that there was peace amongst the communities. Imran, a senior in the locality, was quick to add that just Muslim votes won’t be enough even though AAP and Congress have joined hands. “People in the Chandni Chowk area and the traders have to vote for JP. He is popular there, but we will know when the results come in 10 days.”

Until 5.00 pm, a voter turnout of 53.73 per cent was recorded in the national capital. In 2019, Delhi had 60.52 per cent voting. The highest turnout of 57.97 per cent was recorded in the North East Delhi constituency, while the New Delhi seat had the lowest voting percentage at 50.44. Chandni Chowk recorded 53.27 per cent polling, East Delhi 53.69 per cent, North West Delhi 53.17 per cent, West Delhi 54.15 per cent and South Delhi 51.84 per cent.