Delhi Civic Body Polls: Voting For 250 Wards Of MCD Begins, Over 13,600 Polling Stations Set Up In National Capital

MCD Election 2022: Polling will be held from 8 am to 5:30 pm and the votes will be counted on December 7.

New Delhi: Voting for the first elections of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), after the delimitation exercise, began on Sunday morning amid tight security in a total of 250 wards. The voting which began at 8 am will conclude at 5:30 pm.

After nearly a month of heated campaigning, back and forth of levelling allegations for inept performance between BJP, which held the municipal ground in the national capital, and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the elected government of Delhi, the day of voting has arrived. Congress with a new central leader and Rahul Gandhi rallying forces through 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', party's attention on the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has remained lacklustre but the grand old party remains a dark horse due to its past reputation in the city.

Polling in Delhi will be held from 8 am to 5:30 pm to elect the representatives of 250 wards today. The votes will be counted on December 7.

This will be the first civic polls in Delhi after the fresh delimitation exercise, and the voting is being held days after the first phase of the Gujarat assembly elections, and a day ahead of its second phase. There were 272 wards in Delhi and three corporations -- NDMC, SDMC, and EDMC -- in Delhi from 2012-2022, before being reunified into an MCD which has 250 wards.

Poll authorities have set up 13,638 polling stations across Delhi for the exercise. According to data shared by the State Election Commission (SEC) officials, the total number of voters in Delhi is 1,45,05,358 -- 78,93,418 males, 66,10,879 females, and 1,061 transgender persons. Over 1.45 crore electors are eligible to exercise their franchise in the elections to the 250 wards of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, in which 1,349 candidates are in the fray. 

The SEC officials said poll authorities and its teams were all set for the big day on Sunday and adequate arrangements for the deployment of forces has been done.

The Commission on Friday said it has made elaborate arrangements for a safe, secure, and pleasant voting experience for people. These measures are required to keep the electoral field free and to ensure that a level playing field is afforded to all political parties and candidates.

This is also the first civic poll being held in the national capital after the February 2020 riots in Delhi, and as per data shared by officials, 3360 booths, spanning 493 locations, have been identified in critical or sensitive categories.

(With PTI inputs)