Millions Vote in Delhi Civic Polls Amid EVM Glitches
Millions Vote in Delhi Civic Polls Amid EVM Glitches
Millions of men and women on Sunday voted amid EVM glitches to pick three new municipal bodies in an election crucial for all three main contenders -- the BJP, Congress and the AAP.

The balloting was peaceful but both voters and political parties reported numerous cases of malfunctioning of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), which themselves have come under a cloud.

The Aam Aadmi Party, which rules Delhi, and the Congress want to end the 10-year reign of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the civic body, citing poor upkeep of the city's cleanliness.

Polling did not take place in two wards - Maujpur in East Delhi and Sarai Pipal Thala in North Delhi - where a candidate each of the Samajwadi Party died.

Even as the polling was on, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said reports of EVM malfunctioning came from all over the capital. He also tweeted that many people with voter slips were not allowed to vote.

A Maharashtra Congress leader, Shehzad Poonawala, tweeted about the EVMs in Delhi: "Better we call them (E)xtremely (V)ulnerable (M)achines."

A total of 2,537 candidates were in the fray.

Among others who contested the election are the Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal-United and Swaraj India of Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan who were earlier Kejriwal's colleagues in the AAP.

The three civic bodies cover 68 of the 70 assembly constituencies in Delhi. The two smaller civic bodies are the Delhi Cantonment Board as well as the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).

"I urge the people of Delhi to vote for a filth-free Delhi, a dengue- and chikungunya-free Delhi," said Kejriwal after voting along with his family.

Asked if the election was a referendum on his government's two-year performance, he replied: "We will see when the results come (on Wednesday)."

Maken rooted for the Congress.

Some voters complained of poor organisation.

"Voter slips have not been given to many. This has created a lot of confusion. My wife and I didn't get any voter slips," Amit Basu, a voter from Chittaranjan Park in south Delhi, told IANS.

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