Polling concludes smoothly in Delhi; AAP says L-G tried to ‘delay’ voting; Saxena denies charge

Smooth polling in Delhi despite complaints of voter list deletions; AAP accuses L-G of slowing down voting.

 Polling in the Capital went smoothly on Saturday, barring a few instances in which residents complained about their names being deleted from the electoral rolls, even as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena of a bid to “slow down voting”.

While Mr. Saxena junked the charge, the BJP flayed AAP, asking the Delhi’s ruling party to refrain from dragging constitutional posts into controversies.

Delhi Finance Minister Atishi had levelled a similar allegation against the L-G a day earlier as well.

Attacking Mr. Saxena on Saturday, she said the L-G had “instructed the Delhi police to slow down voting” in areas considered strongholds of the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). “If this happens, then it will be a violation of the idea of a free and fair election. So, we hope that the Election Commission will take cognisance of this,” she said.

INDIA bloc partners AAP and Congress are contesting the Lok Sabha poll in Delhi in alliance as part of a 4-3 seat-sharing agreement.

Responding to the Minister’s accusations, Mr. Saxena, in a post on X, said, “I have taken a stern view of this unwarranted and false statement.”

Meanwhile, many voters said their names had been deleted from the electoral rolls without any notification or explanation. Around 1.52 crore people were eligible to vote for Delhi’s seven Lok Sabha seats.