Delhi Polls 2020: Will the last hour surge of voting turn the tables?

A day after the Delhi election and amid controversy, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the voter turnout in the national capital. The voter turnout was recorded at 62.59 per cent with last hour surge in voting. This may upset the calculations of all exit pollsters that had collected their data till 3 PM and processed it in the next three hours.

New Delhi: Delhi voted for a new assembly on Saturday with 1.47 crore voters deciding the fate of 672 candidates.

The evening voter percentage in Delhi saw a sharp uptick as the final voter turnout was recorded at 62.59 per cent according to the Election Commission of India (ECI), around 5 per cent down from the 2015 assembly election.

Delhi Assembly Elections 2020 voter turnout

However, the precipitous rise in the voter turnout is attributed to the inexplicably high attendance of people coming out to vote in East and West Delhi. The late surge has thrown all the three political parties-BJP, AAP and Congress off-guard.

A day after the Delhi election and amid controversy, the ECI on Sunday evening announced the voter turnout in the national capital.

Informing about the turnout in a press briefing, Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh had said that voting continued till night on Saturday and therefore he added that there was a delay in providing the details.

This may upset the calculations of all exit pollsters that had collected their data till 3 PM and processed it in the next three hours. If sources are to be believed it can also turn the tables of Delhi assembly elections.

Voter trunout in 2015 as well as 2020 Delhi Assembly Elections

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had also questioned the EC regarding the release of data. AAP had also raised the electronic voting machine bogey. It had alleged that machines were being moved around without mandatory protection of reserve police.

The highest voter turnout was recorded in Balliamaran at 71.66% while the lowest was at Delhi Cantonment polling station. Okhla, where the Shaheen Bagh protests are on and Seelampur also registered high turnout.

In Delhi assembly elections 2015, the voter turnout in Delhi Assembly election was highest with 67.47 per cent, in which AAP secured 54.34 per cent vote share. While BJP won 32.19 per cent of vote share.

Informing about the turnout in a press briefing, Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh said that voting continued till night on Saturday and therefore he added that there was a delay in providing the details.

It is to be noted that since 1998, Delhi had seen an increase in the overall voter turnout in each successive election. Hence, turnout in 2003, 2008, 2013, and 2015 was recorded at 53.42 per cent, 57.58 per cent, 65.63 per cent, and 67.12 per cent, respectively.

Voter turnout details since 1998

As many as 13,571 polling stations were set up at 2,688 locations. Out of these, 3,141 were critical polling stations and 144 were vulnerable polling stations.

The counting of votes to take place on February 11.