NEW DELHI: The bypolls for 12 wards of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), held across 580 polling booths in the national capital on Sunday, were conducted peacefully.
According to the State Election Commission (SEC), a voter turnout of 38.51 per cent was recorded till 5.30 pm. Voting began at 7.30 am and ended at 5.30 pm.
“The polling remained completely peaceful, and there were no reports of any disorder or commotion at any polling station. No disruption in polling was reported due to technical issues or malfunctions in the EVM machines,” the State Election Commission said in a statement.
Among the 12 wards, Chandni Mahal recorded the highest turnout at 55.93 per cent, followed by Mundka with 44.5 per cent and Sangam Vihar-A with 44.4 per cent.
Greater Kailash registered the lowest turnout at 26.76 per cent, while Dwarka-B recorded 29.76 per cent. Chandni Chowk saw 35.65 per cent turnout, Ashok Vihar 33.82 per cent and Shalimar Bagh-B 37.53 per cent.
Dichaon Kalan recorded 37.2 per cent voting, Naraina 42.76 per cent, Dakshin Puri 40.23 per cent and Vinod Nagar 36.47 per cent.
A total of 51 candidates, including 26 women, are contesting the polls. The BJP has fielded the highest number of women candidates (8), followed by AAP (6) and Congress (5). The Congress is attempting to regain ground, though the primary contest remains between BJP and AAP. AAP’s campaign also suffered a setback after its senior leader and two-time MLA Rajesh Gupta switched to the BJP just before polling day. Votes will be counted on December 3.
To ensure smooth polling, the Delhi State Election Commission deployed 2,320 polling personnel, 2,265 additional staff, 580 Home Guards and 13 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces. Polling stations were monitored through webcasting for real-time oversight.
Voters were also able to provide instant feedback using QR codes displayed at the stations. The election authorities introduced inclusive facilities such as all-women “Pink Booths” and Model Polling Booths designed to create a more welcoming voting environment.