Delhi Assembly Polls 2020 Highlights: Voter Turnout Increases Marginally, 57% Cast Vote Till 6 PM

Voting for Delhi Assembly concluded smoothly on Saturday after the national capital witnessed a bitterly fought election campaign. The election emerged as a direct contest between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Congress is the third contender. Delhi recorded a voter turnout of 57.06 pc till 6 pm, even as polling at some booths was underway.

As the voting drew to a close, Exit polls predicted a clean sweep for Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP. 

Find all the important updates here:

8:30 PM: Delhi Assembly polls saw a voter turnout of 57.06 per cent till 6 pm, even as polling at some booths was underway. The turnout percentage may rise as more people vote.

6:00 PM: Among the 11 districts, northeast Delhi recorded a voter turnout of 63.4 per cent, the highest, while New Delhi saw 44.29 per cent, the lowest. 

5:40 PM: Voter turnout in Delhi improved marginally in the past one hour and stood at 54 per cent at 5 pm, as per election officials.

The polling percentage was 42.20 per cent till 4 pm, according to the Election Commission's Voter Turnout app. The voting for 70-members Delhi assembly will conclude at 6 pm.

4:36 PM: An estimated 42.29 per cent of the 1.47 crore eligible voters cast their votes in the first eight hours till 4 pm on Saturday in the election for the 70-member Delhi Assembly.

The early hours saw low polling as very few voters chose to brave the early morning chill to cast their franchise even after the polling began at 8 am amid tight security.

3:20 PM: The voter turnout remains sluggish in the national capital with only 30.2% of the Delhi electorate casting their vote till 3 PM. 

2:27 PM: Delhi has recorded an estimated 27.48 per cent peaceful voter turnout till 2 p.m. on Saturday with 1.47 crore eligible voters expected to cast their votes in the election for the 70-member Delhi Assembly.

2:07 PM: Taking a swipe at those protesting against CAA-NRC, senior RSS functionary Ram Lal on Saturday said those shouting "kagaz nahin dikhayenge" would be defeated in the Delhi assembly election as he appealed to people to show documents while voting.

1:30 PM: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Robert Vadra and their son Raihan Rajiv Vadra, who is a first-time voter, have cast their vote at booth no.114 and 116 in Lodhi Estate.

1:20 PM: Delhi saw 19.37 % voter turnout till 1 pm. Voting ends in five hours.

1:06 PM: Union minister Smriti Irani slammed Arvind Kejriwal on Twitter saying, "Don't you think women are capable enough to decide for themselves on who to vote for?". Her tweet follows Kejriwal urging women to take the men in their homes to vote along with them and discuss with the men about who they should vote for. 

12:40 PM: Polling for Delhi Assembly polls is slowly picking up as 15.68 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 12 noon, according to Election Commission's Voter Turnout app.

12:20 PM: Congress leader Alka Lamba got into a scuffle with an AAP worker near Majnu Ka Teela.

11:31 AM: A turnout of 14.75 per cent was recorded for Delhi Assembly polls till 11 am.

11:21 AM: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has cast his vote at a polling booth on Aurangzeb lane.

11:19 AM: Centenarian Kalitara Mandal, the oldest voter in Delhi, has cast her vote and urged people to take part in the democratic exercise. Aged 111, she came to a polling station in CR Park along with her son, grandson and other family members.

11:12 AM: Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi has cast her vote at Nirman Bhawan in New Delhi assembly constituency. She was accompanied by daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who will cast her vote at Lodhi Estate. 

11:04 AM: Congress leader and former party chief Rahul Gandhi arrives at a polling booth on Aurangzeb Road to cast his vote.

10:36 AM: President Ram Nath Kovind and his wife Savita Kovind cast their votes at Dr Rajendra Prasad Kendriya Vidyalaya, President’s Estate.

10:19 AM: An election officer, Udham Singh, deployed at a polling booth in Babarpur Primary School in Northeast Delhi has died. He died of a heart attack, an official said.

10:09 AM: 4.33% voter turnout in Delhi assembly polls till 10:00 am.

10:04 AM: "I appeal to all, especially to the women, to cast their votes today. I am hopeful that the people of Delhi will vote on the basis of the work done. I am hopeful that Aam Aadmi Party will come back to power for the third time," says Kejriwal.

9:45 AM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday urged Delhi voters to turn out in large numbers to exercise their franchise and create a "new voting record".

9:35 AM:  An estimated 1.14 per cent of the 1.47 crore eligible voters have exercised their franchise till 9 a.m. on Saturday in the elections to the 70 Delhi Assembly seats.

9:26 AM: Polling for Delhi Assembly polls could not begin at two polling booths - one in Yamuna Vihar and one in Lodhi Estate area - due to technical issues in EVMs.

9:09 AM: Congress candidate from the Chandni Chowk assembly constituency, Alka Lamba, casts her vote. She is up against Prahlad Singh Sahni of Aam Aadmi Party and BJP's Suman Gupta.

8:54 AM: Amid anti-CAA protests in Shaheen Bagh, long queues of voters were witnessed outside the polling booths. The protests against CAA in Shaheen Bagh have been going on for over a month.

8:40 AM: As polling for the 70-member Assembly seats in Delhi began on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people, especially the youth, to come out and vote in record numbers.

"Today is the polling day for the Delhi Legislative Assembly...Urging the people of Delhi, especially my young friends, to vote in record numbers," Modi tweeted.

8:30 AM: BJP MP Parvesh Verma casts his vote at a polling station in Matiala assembly constituency.

8:10 AM: External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar cast his vote at the polling station set up at NDMC School of Science & Humanities Education at Tuglak Cresent.

8:00 AM: Voting begins for the Delhi Assembly election.

7:49 AM:  "Today, people of Delhi will vote for better education and future for their children," Delhi Deputy Cm Manish Sisodia.

7:35 AM: As many as 672 candidates are in the fray for 70 Assembly seats -- 58 for general category and 12 for scheduled caste. The results will be declared on February 11 and the term of current Delhi assembly will expire on February 22.

7:30 AM: The AAP will contest in all 70 assembly seats, with Kejriwal fighting from New Delhi and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia from Patparganj. BJP are contesting in 67 seats with allies Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United and Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janashakti Party in two and one respectively. Congress are fighting in 66 seats with its ally Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) contesting on 4 seats.

7:25 AM: The AAP is going into the Delhi election with the hope to repeat its stellar performance of the last assembly polls, while the BJP, which bagged all seven seats in the Lok Sabha election in May 2019, will be aiming to expand its vote share in the national capital.

7:20 AM: Citizens, who do not have a voter card but is enrolled on the electoral list, can cast vote by carrying any one of the following valid identity documents -

Passport, Driving License, Service Identity Cards with photograph issued to employees by Central/State Govt./PSUs/Public Limited Companies, Passbooks with photograph issued by Bank/Post Office, PAN Card, Smart Card issued by RGI under NPR, MNREGA Job Card, Health Insurance Smart Card issued under the scheme of Ministry of Labour, Pension document with a photograph, Official identity cards issued to MPs/MLAs/MLCs, and Aadhaar Card.

Here's how a voter can to find his/her name in the electoral roll and polling booth.

- By logging to electoralsearch.in
- By calling the Voter Helpline 1950
- By messaging SMS space to 1950

Read: AAP Has Managed To Change The Political Discourse In Delhi - Arvind Kejriwal

7:18 AM: The Congress, which ruled the Union Territory for three consecutive terms, covering 15 years and 25 days before the arrival of AAP,  is seeking to better its performance than last time when it did not bag any seat in the Assembly polls but improved its vote share in 2019 polls.

Also Read: Shaheen Bagh Takes Centrestage As Delhi Polls Turn Into Shah Vs Kejriwal Battle

7::15 AM: Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh said 1,47,86,382 people -- males (81,05,236), females (66,80,277), service voters (11,608), third gender voters (869), and senior citizens (aged 80 and above) voters (2,04,830) -- are eligible to vote in the Delhi polls, and 2,32,815 are in the age group of 18-19. 

7:10 AM: The police have deployed around 40,000 security personnel, 19,000 home guards and 190 companies of Central Armed Police Forces to ensure smooth conduct of the polls. And they are manning 13,750 polling booths, besides one auxiliary booth, located at 2,689 locations across Delhi.

7:00 AM: The AAP had got 54.3 per cent votes in the 2015 Assembly polls, while the BJP secured 32 per cent and the Congress bagged just 9.6 per cent of the total votes polled.