New Delhi: Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and her husband Robert Vadra cast their vote on Sunday, as the national capital went to polls in the sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections. Priyanka took the occasion to corner Narendra Modi and said the elections are to “safeguard democracy”.
“I have cast my vote keeping in mind the democracy of our country which needs to be safeguarded. This is clear that there is a resentment among the people of the country against the incumbent government. PM Modi-led BJP government will definitely lose this time, ” The Congress general secretary said, flanked by her husband. Dressed in cream saree with red and black border, Priyanka cast her vote at Sardar Patel Vidyalaya in Lodhi Estate area.
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi voted at a booth in Nirman Bhavan, while Union Minister and BJP leader Sushma Swaraj showed-off her inked-finger at a station in Aurangzeb Lane. President Ram Nath Kovind, along with the First Lady Savita Kovind, went to polling booth number 10 in Rashtrapati Bhavan premises this morning to exercise their franchise. Political heavyweights like Congress president Rahul Gandhi, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, Sheila Dikshit, Ajay Maken and Gautam Gambhir too, cast their ballot.
Rahul Gandhi voted at a polling booth in NP Senior Secondary School in Aurangzeb Lane and once raked up the issues of demonetisation and GST while adding that “love will win” in these elections. “The election was fought on key issues including demonetization, farmer problems, Gabbar Singh Tax and corruption in Rafale. Narendra Modi used hatred in the campaign and we used to love and I am confident love will win,” he told reporters.
Cricketers Virat Kohli and Kapil Dev also voted in the national capital. Polling is being held for 59 Lok Sabha seats today to decide the fate of 979 candidates. While the seven seats in the national capital are at stake, voting is taking place for 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 10 in Haryana, 8 each in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, and 4 in Jharkhand.
The prominent among those in the contest are former chief ministers Akhilesh Yadav from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, Digvijaya Singh from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh and Bhupinder Singh Hooda from Sonepat in Haryana. While former Union minister and RJD veteran Raghuvansh Prasad Singh is in the race from Vaishali in Bihar, Congress general secretary Jyotiraditya Scindia is contesting from Guna in Madhya Pradesh. The seventh and last phase of elections will be held on May 19 and counting of votes will take place on May 23.