From constituency number 1 (Narela) to constituency number 70 (Karawal Nagar), The Indian Express traveled throughout Delhi during Wednesday’s voting and discovered that voters wanted clean water, improved roads, a solution to pollution, streets free of trash, and a government that cared about them.
Upasika Singhal, Saman Husain, Pragynesh, Sophiya Mathew, Neetika Jha, Devansh Mittal, Ishfaq Bhat, Gayathri Mani, Sohini Ghosh, Vidheesha Kuntamalla, Nirbhay Thakur, Sakshi Chand, and Ankita Upadhyay report.
Delhi
6.30 am is the time. With 1.09 lakh voters, the capital’s center is ready for a high-profile election that might determine who will govern Delhi after the results are announced on Saturday.
A man with a chiseled face wearing a grey sweater is seen at polling station 44 in the New Delhi constituency, next to Sanchar Bhawan. He’s rushing. “This election, in my opinion, will be quite close. Change is what some people desire. “I arrived early and couldn’t wait to cast my ballot,” recalls 43-year-old Desraj.
Perhaps the most intense campaign in this capital is in New Delhi, where Arvind Kejriwal, the former chief minister of Delhi, faces up against Sandeep Dikshit, the son of former chief minister Sheila Dikshit, of the Congress, and Parvesh Sahib Singh, the son of former chief minister Sahib Singh Verma, of the BJP.
There are 1,100 registered voters at Nirman Bhawan, a polling place two kilometers from Sanchar Bhawan. Two well-known individuals are among these voters: Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Lok Sabha, and Parvesh.
The primary problems for 23-year-old Akshat, who cast his first ballot at a polling place close to a school in Laxmi Bai Nagar, are pollution and a lack of public transportation. “More busses would be nice. Delhi needs a strong public transportation system. I also wish to live in Delhi, where there is no pollution.
The Greater Kailash constituency’s C R Park, which has 13 polling places, is nine kilometers away. The two opponents in this election, the AAP and the BJP, have polling agents seated at a number of tables along the route to the stations that are close to one another.
According to Chandan (41), an AAP poll worker, “our party has instructed us to check EVMs and their batteries… whether they’re fully charged or not.”
Chowk Chandni
At 7.27 am, the villages of Haiderpur and Shalimar in the Shalimar Bagh constituency are humming. On the ground, Delhi Police and Central Armed Police Force officers are ensuring that everything is prepared for voters.
Differently abled mother Sushma Malik (51), accompanied by her son Aryan Malik (19), arrives on her modified scooter at 8 a.m. Wheelchairs are set up, and volunteers lead her inside. “I voted for improvement,” she says as she exits. improved traffic, roads, and cleanliness.
Many people state that they are happy with the current government even if they are voting for “vikas (development)” and “badlav (change).”
The Azadpur Sabzi Mandi in the Adarsh Nagar Assembly constituency has a foul odor. Locals are involved in the expansive market, either as employees, retailers who purchase from the wholesale market, or owners of vegetable shops.
“I fulfilled my duty,” says 72-year-old Umesh Prasad, a voter from the adjoining village of Bharola who owns a vegetable store.”Jo bhi sarkar bane bus nirdhan ko pareshan na karey” means that the poor should not be bothered by those in power.
Residents of the upper and middle classes in the upscale community of Model Town voted against freebies, despite the fact that the impoverished call for compassion.
Many voters on Hudson Lane, which is a part of the Timarpur assembly seat, expressed a similar sentiment regarding the increasing levels of pollution.
Dr. Ruchi Singh, a local voter, insists that whoever presides over the administration also enhance the lot of the upper middle class. “We want better roads and infrastructure, not freebies.”
Delhi’s northwest
The contrast between the groomed, gated communities of Rohini Sector 13 and the winding, potholed roadways of rural Rithala is striking.
The first thing that strikes someone at Vijay Vihar Phase 1 of Rithala is the stench of sewage permeating the air and combining with the dust that is stirred up by the movement of walkers and rickety two-wheelers. There are several potholes in the winding lanes, some of which are big enough to hold standing water from recent rains.
The voting station at Dilli Rithala Prathmik Vidyalaya, a government elementary school, is an ancient, modest building.
One voter is 38-year-old mother of two, Fatima Bhano, who is clearly irritated as she stands outside the polling station. The voter list did not include her name. “They want me to cast my ballot in Sector 4. “How fair is that?” she queries.
The main problems for Bhano are rising electricity costs and inflation. “The costs are extremely exorbitant, even during the winter months when we hardly use electricity. How do we handle this?
Bhano sends her kids to private schools in spite of her meager financial resources. “The state of government schools is appalling. She claims, “It’s all a show—they lie about how great schools are, but they’re not.”
A homemaker named Ameerka Devi, 68, just cast her ballot down the street. “The water here is not potable,” she said, referring to her difficulties getting access to clean water. I have had stomach infections from drinking it for years.
The broad, spotless streets of Rohini Sector 13 replace the sewage stench as one departs Rithala. High-rise apartment buildings and gated communities with well-kept parks predominate here.
Jyoti Godara, a 43-year-old banker, and Abhishek Kumar, a 44-year-old army officer, express their disenchantment with the current administration outside a booth.
Srishti Garg, an 18-year-old first-time voter, disagrees. The law candidate says, “I’m happy with the way things are here, but I do hope the government takes stronger action on issues like pollution.”
Delhi’s West
At 9.30 am, the Government Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya (GSKV) no. 2 polling station in Khyala village of the Rajouri Garden constituency, known as the “Model Polling Station,” is bustling.
Inflation is one of the most important issues for Devender Singh (56), and his mother Charanjit Kaur (82), this election. “The rest is irrelevant. Since this is an industrial region, there may be four-hour power outages throughout the summer. In the past, we have voted for every party imaginable, but we have also seen that nothing has changed.
According to BJP poll workers, voting has been slow in the morning but will soon take up at Government Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya, polling station number two in the Tilak Nagar seat, at 12.30 pm.
The Widow Colony, which is home to survivors of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, is also included in the constituency. Outside the station, there isn’t a congressional booth.
Before the riots started, Atar Kaur, 65, lived in Trilokpuri. She lost 15 family members, including her husband, to the violence. “Only Modi dried our tears.” “Humare aansu bas Modi ne hi poche. He was responsible for whatever little that occurred for us, she claims.
With strong supporters from the affluent Punjabi Bagh extension, Hansraj Model School stands out at the SC reserved seat of Madipur.
Two local voters, Ruby Singh (56), and Gagan Kaur (32), said they discuss about air pollution. When we travel overseas, we discover how far behind we are in every area, including sanitation, roads, and education. We are directly impacted whenever they enforce GRAP-3 or GRAP-4 when pollution levels rise. This isn’t the method to deal with pollution.
Only BJP poll workers are still outside the Government Co-Ed Senior Secondary School voting station in Bakkarwala, which has five polling booths, at approximately 3 p.m. in the Vikaspuri constituency.
Akash Singh, a 28-year-old associate in a private company near Chanchal Park, claims that the AAP’s popularity has decreased. Although it is useless, water is free. Even though I own my own house, I still have to pay my electrical bill.
The crowd has dispersed by 4:15 p.m. at Green Valley School, the voting place for the Najafgarh constituency, which mostly receives voters from the Maksudabad Colony.
Retired central government employee R P Sharma, 70, believes the BJP did well in selecting Neelam Pahalwan as the new candidate for the seat rather than Kailash Gahlot, the area’s former AAP MLA who switched to the BJP.
Delhi’s northeast
Chandu Nagar is split into two assembly by a road. Adarsh Lakhpat Model Secondary School is on one side, gathering votes for Karawal Nagar, while New Sandhya Public Secondary School is on the other, gathering votes for Mustafabad.
Voters begin to arrive at both campuses at 7 am, and their numbers increase as the hours pass. While the Mustafabad side appeared devoid of any festival decorations, the small streets on the Karwal Nagar side seemed to be overflowing with saffron pennants.
Hakim Mallick, 54, and Deen Mohammad, 59, are awaiting a friend to vote for Mustafabad. They claim to support a party that has a chance of winning. Mohammad explains why he will not vote for AIMIM by saying, “There is no way Tahir (Hussain, AIMIM candidate and an accused in the riots conspiracy case) will win.”
Standing close by, Samira (29), is unable to control her outrage. “Main toh patang ko vote dungi,” she says, adding, “I’ll vote for the kite, which is AIMIM’s poll symbol.”
Nearly every home in Kamal Nagar, Mustafabad’s Hindu-majority neighborhood, has saffron flags and pennants flying from the ramparts. Lekin uss se pehle zinda rehna zaruri hai, dekhiye swasthya aur shiksha zaruri hai. Zinda rehne ke liye zaruri hai dharm, which means that while education and health are vital, one must first survive. “You need dharma to survive,” says Shiv Kumar, a 50-year-old voter.
Anmol Verma, a 17-year-old volunteer at the Sant Parmanand Public School in Mohanpuri, is assisting a weary Trilochan Singh (79), who had trouble walking, in casting his ballot around 4 kilometers away in Babarpur.
Singh can cast his ballot right away, but there will still be a line because others are still showing up. “Kejriwal has done a lot for schools and health by setting up mohalla clinics and free electricity for 200 units,” he said after casting his ballot. Some work has also been done by the Center. We have cards for rationing. However, bade logon ko zyada faida hua (wealthy people have gained more) because of the BJP.
South Delhi
The streets in Kalkaji, where Chief Minister Atishi is facing off against Congressman Alka Lamba and BJP candidate Ramesh Bidhuri, have been cleaned clean. At their desks, poll workers wearing scarves without symbols encourage citizens to cast their ballots. According to BJP polling agent Vandana Sethi, 58, “we have worked very hard for the party and we believe our candidate (Ramesh Bidhuri) should get a chance.”
Atishi shows up shortly to vote. “My father was a kattar (staunch) Congressi who fought for India’s independence,” adds Sunita Maini, 69, the CM’s neighbor. He used to remark that we should vote for Congress even if it represented a dog. However, such reasoning no longer makes sense. The tasks being performed here include sanitation,water supply, healthcare, electricity — is good.”
The opinions of voters vary per constituency. Some voted against inflation and economic worries, while others did so in favor of governance and services.
Kulvir Singh, 51, the operations head of a multinational company, is having a lengthy conversation with a buddy who is the principal of a Kendriya Vidyalaya outside Sona Modern Public School in Ambedkar Nagar. Singh thinks that “economic well-being is necessary aside from freebies.” “We carefully examined manifestos and are voting for the one that aligns with our personal aspirations,” the principal continues.
An angry voter wearing a stylish jacket and sunglasses runs past a poll at Sainik Farms in Mehrauli constituency, where DMRC construction is clogging the roads with dust and traffic. “I will not be voting again — this was torturous!” she exclaims, blaming poor booth management for her uproar.
The urgency increases as the day goes on and the constituencies of South Delhi get closer to the final round of voting. Khatoon Bano considers her vote at the Mehrauli Dargah booth, which was influenced by the recent wave of demolitions that forced many people to leave their homes in her neighborhood. “With this in mind, we will cast our votes,” she declares.
Delhi East
Light rain started the day in “jamna-paar,” and voting didn’t start until about ten in the morning.
Change seems to be the buzzword in Patparganj, where outgoing MLA Manish Sisodia is running again from Jangpura. Many say this is because of heightened anti-incumbency sentiment.
“I voted for change,” says 22-year-old Agrim Kulsheshta, who was the first voter in Mayur Vihar pocket 3, polling places 99 and 100. Although Mayur Vihar has a sizable number of constructed units, the surrounding areas are underdeveloped. You feel like you are in hell as soon as you leave your house because of the potholes, toxic air, and traffic congestion.
WiFi provider Dharmendra stated, “We don’t have to point out anything because everything here is in the open,” as he prepared to cast his ballot in the Trilokpuri constituency. If the AAP had fixed something or at least installed a sewer connection, I would have cast my ballot for them. I have voted for the party that is considering Dalit upliftment.
A significant number of migrants from Tamil Nadu’s Theni and Tirunelveli districts have settled in Trilokpuri, a reserved electorate.
“I came here with a six-month toddler about 55 years ago from Tamil Nadu,” says Annaveli, 65. There is a water shortage in Block 22, where many Tamilians reside. We occasionally receive foul-smelling water. Our house gets wet when it rains.
According to her friend Pungavanam, “Indira Gandhi amma settled the entire block. We need more individuals like Jayalalithaa and her. Although the Jhadu (AAP) party is good, pensions are not paid on schedule.
Archit Gupta of All India Radio, who works in Laxmi Nagar, where the BJP is currently in control, stated, “My vote has gone against freebies. I want clean air, roads free of traffic, walking trails, schools, and hospitals.
Huma, a clinical psychologist in the Okhla constituency’s Shaheen Bagh, praised the BJP’s pledge to give “free pregnancy kits and Rs 21,000 to pregnant women.”
Given Delhi’s poor prenatal care facilities, I think this is a fantastic plan. She says, “I think mothers, especially single mothers, will get a lot of help if such a scheme is implemented.”
MK Tandon, 80, of the controversial Jangpura constituency, states: “I voted at 8 am. This time, I want a government with two engines. I have a reason: Manish Sisodia was imprisoned for a liquor scam, despite holding multiple portfolios and doing nothing. In a luxury neighborhood like this, the roads are really bad.
