MCD polls: CM Kejriwal appeals Delhiites to cast vote for corruption-free govt

As the voting for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi MCD elections began on Sunday morning Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealed to people of the national capital to cast their votes to make a corruptionfree government in the civic bodyToday there is voting to make Delhi clean and beautiful there is voting to make a corruptionfree government in the Municipal Corporation My appeal to all the Delhiites do go to cast your vote today to form an honest and working government in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi Kejriwal tweetedThe voting for 250 wards began at 8 am and will conclude at 530 pmOver 145 crore people are eligible to vote in civic polls in which 1349 candidates are in the fray setting the stage for the highstakes civic polls largely seen as a threeway contest between the BJP the AAP and the CongressDelhi witnessed highdecibel campaigning by AAP and BJP which made top leaders including Union ministers chief ministers of BJPruled states and MPs hit the streets for doortodoor campaigning and meetings to garner public supportAlso Read Three Pakistani policemen killed in terror attackThe counting of votes will be done on December 7According to data shared by the State Election Commission officials the total number of voters in Delhi is 14505358 7893418 males 6610879 females and 1061 transgender persons There are 250 wards in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi MCDDelhi State Election Commission has set up 13638 polling stations for the electionsThe State Election Commission said a large workforce of election functionaries and security agencies have put humungous efforts to make necessary preparations for conducting elections at 13638 polling stations spread across Delhi Further 68 Model Polling Stations and 68 Pink Polling Stations have been established for the quality experience of the voters Adequate arrangements for the deployment of forces have been made68 Model Polling Stations have been set up with facilities including a waiting arealounge distribution of candiestoffees to voters a selfie booth and Civil Defence Volunteers to help PwDsenior citizens68 Pink booths have been set up with facilities including allfemale staff at the polling station a feeding room for lactating mothers a creche facility for small kids accompanying voters swings for kids selfie boothThe Commission said it has made elaborate arrangements for safe secure and pleasant voting experience These measures are required to keep the electoral field free and to ensure that a level playing field is afforded to all political parties and candidatesBoth the AAP and the BJP have exuded confidence that they will emerge victorious in the polls while the Congress is trying to regain lost turfAll political parties campaigned hard for the elections with the issue of cleanliness in the city figuring prominently in the political discourseBJP with its senior leaders and chief ministers of the partyruled state held over 200 public meetings and roadshowsThe BJP which has governed the civic body in Delhi since 2007 is looking to maintain its winning streak while the Aam Aadmi Party which has a majority in the Assembly is looking to make inroads in the first municipal election in the capital after the delimitation of wardsBJP leaders Nitin Gadkari Meenakshi Lekhi Piyush Goyal and Hardeep Singh Puri campaigned for the partyConfederation of All India Traders CAIT along with 50 other trade associations of Delhi have declared their support for Bharatiya Janata Party BJP in the upcoming municipal pollsDelhi Police is working roundtheclock to ensure the peaceful and orderly conduct of the pollsThis is the first civic election after the fresh delimitation exercise There were 272 wards in Delhi and three corporations NDMC SDMC and EDMC in Delhi from 20122022 that later reunified into an MCD that had formally come into existence on May 22This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever