AAP leader Raghav Chadha seen after voting at the Rajinder Nagar polling booth. (Express photo)Delhi Live News: The Rajinder Nagar Assembly constituency recorded a voter turnout of 43.75 per cent till 6 pm in the bypolls Thursday. Delhi Chief Election Officer (CEO) Ranbir Singh said efforts have been made to encourage more voters to come to the polling booths. As many as 24 Covid patients voted during the last hour of polling which was reserved for them.
After days of heavy campaigning, voting for the Rajinder Nagar bye-election got underway amid tight security, with 20 candidates in the fray. The seat fell vacant after AAP’s Raghav Chadha was nominated to the Rajya Sabha. The results of the elections will be announced on June 26. The BJP has fielded Rajesh Bhatia as its candidate, the AAP has given the ticket to Durgesh Pathak, and Congress to Prem Lata. According to the chief electoral officer, there have been several election procedure violations reported in the area, with 36,390 cases of defacement being recorded since May 25.
In other news, Delhi recorded 1,934 new Covid-19 cases and zero death on Thursday, while the positivity rate stood 8.10 per cent, according to data shared by the health department. The fresh infections came out of 23,879 tests conducted the previous day, it said. With these fresh cases, the infection tally rose to 19,27,394 while the death toll stands at 26,242.
A fire broke out in a shop in Rohini’s Pooth Kalan area Thursday afternoon, causing one death.
Delhi Fire Services officials said a 25-year-old man died in the fire and several others were rescued.
DFS chief Atul Garg said, “A total of eight fire tenders were dispatched to the site. Seven people have been rescued from the building so far.” Read More
With the search for a new director for the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-New Delhi still ongoing, the term of the present director Dr Randeep Guleria has been extended for another three months again, according to an internal office memorandum by the hospital’s deputy director (administration).
This is the second time his tenure has been extended, with his original five-year term ending on March 28 this year.
“The president, AIIMS, New Delhi is pleased to further extend his tenure as director… by three months or by the time a new director is appointed, whichever is earlier,” the memorandum said. The current extension comes as the appointments committee of the cabinet asked the health ministry to send “a wider panel of names” for the position. Read More
A 26-acre pond at Palla that is being used to trap floodwaters from the Yamuna river, has helped increase the groundwater level in the area by 0.5 metres to 2 metres, according to the Delhi government.
The pond was launched as a three-year pilot project in 2019, and was in its final year in 2021. The project will now continue this year as well, going by a communication from the Delhi government.
A total of 33 piezometers were installed close to the project area to determine the impact of the pond on groundwater levels. For the project, the government had taken control of 40 acres of land at Sungherpur village near Palla, of which around 30 acres were taken on a three-year lease from farmers in the area. Read More
Pumped with zeal and excitement, first-time voters of Rajinder Nagar assembly constituency in Delhi exercised their franchise on Thursday to "bring a change" in society and elect a leader to address local issues. Many said it instilled a "sense of responsibility" in them towards the country.
Mishthi Mehra (18) of New Rajinder Nagar voted for the first time. "I was very exited ever since the bypoll was announced as it was an opportunity for me to participate in the festival of democracy. I voted for development of my area as there are a number of issues that are to be taken care of, including the water supply," Mehra told PTI.
Potable water supply, sewer lines, broken roads and the new liquor policy were among the key election issues for many Rajinder Nagar residents as they stepped out to vote in the bypoll to the assembly constituency on Thursday morning.
The Rajinder Nagar assembly seat fell vacant after AAP leader Raghav Chadha was elected to Rajya Sabha recently. Several voters alleged no developmental work was undertaken in the constituency.
"I voted for development, which this constituency lacks. Issues of water supply, parking and encroachment need to be fixed. I believe people are voting on development issues," Gurjeet Singh, who came to exercise his franchise at a Rajinder Nagar R Block polling station, told PTI.
A turnout of 33.4 per cent was recorded at 3 pm since voting began for the bypoll to the Rajinder Nagar assembly constituency on Thursday. A total of 1,64,698 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the bye-election, in which 14 candidates are in the fray, with water shortage and the city government's liquor policy among the key election issues.
The two major contenders -- the AAP and the BJP -- have exuded confidence that their candidates will emerge victorious in the bypoll with a huge margin. Polling began at 7 am amid tight security arrangements and is scheduled to be held till 6 pm.
The voting percentage till 1 pm stood at 26.24 per cent.
As of now, 440 people have availed the free pick and drop facility meant for senior citizens and PWD.
'Covid patients have been identified by the district administration. Proper arrangements have been made for them. Ambulances have been arranged to bring them to the polling station. They will be allowed to vote between 5-6 PM. Once all others complete voting, they will be allowed to vote wearing PPE kits,' Singh further informed.
The Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh said the voting percentage is low. 'We have tried out best through our voter awareness programme to encourage people to vote. We are hoping that it will pick up as we go and maybe in the afternoon more people will come', Singh said during voting.
"In 2020, for this constituency, the voter turnout was 58.27% and we hope that it will be crossed this time," he added.
"We want a local candidate so that we can keep our grievances to them. Water is a major issue here," says Aarti Arora who is a businessowner.
BJP East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir says, "People of Rajinder Nagar should come out and vote in big numbers. They should see the condition of water, roads and make their choices."
Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena Wednesday suspended three officials — two sub-divisional magistrates (SDM) and a deputy secretary posted at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s office — in an alleged case of “financial irregularities”.
Sources said two suspended officers are SDMs and one is a deputy secretary at CMO, who was posted as an SDM when the alleged case took place. Read more
Three men, including an employee of a leading private bank, were arrested from Delhi’s Rohini for allegedly cheating hundreds of bank account holders by re-issuing SIM cards on fake IDs, using stolen customer data from the bank.
The police identified the accused, who were arrested on Monday, as Rohini residents Kapil (28), Sunny Kumar Singh (27) and Pavin Ramesh (21), and said that a fourth accused, Rakesh, was absconding. Police added that Sunny, who worked at the bank, was also involved in a theft case. Read more
Partly cloudy skies and a maximum temperature of 38 degrees Celsius are on the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast for Delhi on Thursday. No rainfall is likely from June 23 to 26, going by the IMD forecast for the next six days. Rainfall returns to the forecast for Delhi from June 27 to 29.
The maximum temperature is set to increase to 40 degrees Celsius on June 25 and 26, before it falls again with another spell of rainfall. Read more
Residents RR Vohra, 92 and Sarla Rani Vohra of old Rajinder Nagar said that their names have been struck out from the voter list. "We have been voting for years but this year we couldn't," they said.
The Rajinder Nagar constituency has over 1.64 lakh voters in the constituency. Of these, 92,221 are male, 72,473 are female and 4 are categorised as ‘third gender’. The polling results will be announced on June 26.