NEW DELHI: As voters cast their ballots to determine the political future of Delhi for the next five years, The New Indian team went on the ground to seek updates from several polling booths in the New Delhi vidhan sabha seat, that witnessed a high-stakes battle between three heavyweights — Parvesh Verma (BJP), Arvind Kejriwal(AAP) and Sandeep Dikshit (Congress).
After casting their votes early in the morning, most voters expressed their happiness, feeling empowered but also added they were hoping for a change, raising questions if AAP supremo could lose this fourth bid to be elected from the same turf.
A voter from the New Delhi constituency, Srinivas, said, “There should be no freebies. I believe in the ‘Double Engine’ model,”
A woman from upper middle class strata also echoed similar sentiments. “We only thought about the welfare of the country while casting our ballot,”
Her daughter, on the other hand, said, “We need to take care of air pollution. That is important,” hinting that she was not ready to give AAP another term in 2025.
The New Delhi Constituency includes constituents from several affluent backgrounds and colonies.
However, while sharing their concerns, a family expressed worries about water supply and garbage management.
Alka said, “Water supply is a major concern. Garbage is a problem, and roaming monkeys are exacerbating the issue.”
A triangular fight is underway between BJP candidate Pravesh Verma, AAP Convener Arvind Kejriwal, and Congress candidate Sandeep Dikshit.
Muslim voters expressed support for Congress, saying, “Sandeep Dikshit and his mother Sheila Dikshit often visited our Dargah. We are praying that Congress will come back, and change is going to happen for sure.”
Nirman Bhawan is a VVIP polling booth, where Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi cast his vote early in the morning, around 8 a.m. His mother, Sonia Gandhi, later cast her vote at around 11:30 a.m. from the same polling booth.
Many voters felt that Dikshit, being a heavyweight, may have puled out all stops to stop the juggernaut of Kejriwal, and would have dented his campaign to a large extent.
In 2013, Kejriwal had won this seat by defeating then CM Sheila Dikshit by a margin of 5,714 votes.
In 2015, Kejriwal, the AAP candidate, won the New Delhi constituency by a much larger margin compared to 2013. He defeated Kiran Bedi of BJP and Ashok Kumar of Congress