Record turnout for Delhi elections: As it happened

Zee Media Bureau/Ritesh K Srivastava/Biplob Ghosal

6: 00 pm: Delhi sees record 66 percent voting The Delhi Assembly polls witnessed a record turnout of 66 percent, the highest so far, said Election Commission officials. The 1993 polls, the first time Delhi had Assembly polls, had a turnout of 61.75 percent, the highest record until Wednesday. In the 2008 assembly elections, a total of 57.58 percent polling was recorded. 5: 00 pm: Voting ends Balloting for the Delhi assembly came to an end at 5 pm on Wednesday, an official said. A total of 810 candidates battled it out in the polls in which over 11.9 million voters were eligible to exercise their franchise. Ballot count will be held Dec 8. 4: 30 pm: Polling in Delhi may touch record 70% A record 70 percent turnout is expected in Delhi, said an Election Commission official Wednesday, attributing it to brisk voting in the last two hours at polling stations. "The way polling has gone till now, there is no doubt the percentage might cross 70 percent," an official told a news agency. 4: 10 pm: 55% turnout till 4 pm In the final hours of polling here, the voter turnout was 55% till 4 pm and the EC officials expressed hope that the voting percentage may go up to 70% by the end of voting at 5 pm. 3: 45 pm: War of words between BJP, Congress BJP`s chief ministerial candidate Harsh Vardhan refutes Sheila Dikshit`s claim of transforming Delhi into a world class state. "I don’t need character certificate from Sheila Dikshit," says Harsh Vardhan. 3:15 pm: 48% overall turnout in Delhi till 3: pm As voting picked up in the second half of the day nearly 50% voter turnout was recorded in New Delhi constituency, where as the total turnout for the city state till 3 pm was 48%. 2: 45 pm: 42% turnout till 2:30 pm After initial lull, long queues were seen outside poll booths as voting picked up around afternoon for the crucial state elections being held here. As per reports, nearly 42% voting was recorded till 2.30 pm. 2:05 pm: Voters cry foul, seek re-polling Voters at various polling booths in several constituencies have complained that their names are not on the electoral rolls. Among those who have complained are residents of Jungpura, Badli, Krishnanagar, who were unable to cast their votes as they names were not on the electoral list. 1:20 pm: 34% voting till 1 pm Polling in Delhi seems to have picked up some momentum as 34% voting was recorded till 1 pm. Meanwhile, voters at various polling booths have complained that their names are not on the electoral rolls. 12:45pm: `BJP will win with a thumping majority` BJP`s CM pick Harsh Vardhan expresses confidence that his party will win the assembly elections here with a thumping majority. "BJP will win with thumping majority in Delhi," he says. 12:15 pm: 27% turnout till noon Voting percentage till noon was recorded at 27%, said election officials. 11:45 am: 22% turnout till 11:30 pm Despite high-voltage campaigning by top leaders, polling in initial hours remained below expectations. Around 22 percent voting has been recorded till 11:30 am here. 11: 40 am: Sibal casts vote Union Minister and senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal casts his vote and shows victory signs to reporters. 11:30 am: No Modi factor in Delhi polls, says CM Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit says BJP`s PM candidate has no bearing on polls here. She has expressed confidence that voters in Delhi will vote for development that has been the hallmark of Congress government here. 11: 20 am: 17% turnout till 11 am Balloting is slowly picking up at various polling booths here. According to the state election officials, 17 percent voter turnout has been recorded till 11 am. 10:30 am: 10 percent voter turnout till 10 am Ten percent voter turnout has been recorded so far, according to poll officials. 10.20 am: Priyank, Robert Vadra cast votes Sonia Gandhi`s daughter Priyanka Gandhi and son-in-law Robert Vadra have also cast their votes. 10:10 am: Sonia Gandhi, Sheila Dikshit cast votes Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit have cast their votes at the Nirman Bhavan polling booth. Also Read: Sonia Gandhi, Sheila Dikshit cast vote 9:32 am: Delhi CM confident of getting votes Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit, who is looking for a fourth straight term, says, "We will get vote on consistent and inclusive development. We have made Delhi the best place. All these corruption charges are false." Also Read: BJP ahead of Congress, AAP: Harsh Vardhan 9:20 am: Delhi to see high voter turnout, says CEO Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Vijay Dev expresses hope to see a higher voter turnout with at least 4 lakh first-time voters registered this time. Also Read: Voter turnout will be higher: Delhi poll chief 9:11 am: AAP alleges foul play AAP leader Prashant Bhushan alleges that the party has not been allowed to put its tables in front of some polling booths. "At many polling stations, AAP is not being allowed to put up their tables in front of the polling stations. This complaint is coming primarily from the New Delhi constituency, Adarsh Nagar. I am appealing to the CEC to take action. It is clear that police officers have been instructed not to let AAP put up their tables. The BJP and Congress have put up their tables in front of the polling booths," Bhushan says. 8:50 am: Harsh Vardhan casts votes BJP CM candidate Harsh Vardhan says, "Aam Aadmi Party doesn`t exist for him and he is confident of victory." "I hope the voter turnout is high. If it can be high in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, then we hope Delhi has over 80 per cent turnout. We are 100 per cent sure of victory, we`ll win with a very high margin. The third party doesn`t exist," he says after casting his votes. 8:40 am: BJP`s Harsh Vardhan reaches polling booth BJP CM candidate Harsh Vardhan reaches the Krishna Nagar polling station to cast his vote. 8:15 am: Kejriwal, Goel cast their votes Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi BJP leader Vijay Goel cast their votes at Hanuman Road polling booth. Also Read: Confident of results: Arvind Kejriwal 8:10 am: Kejriwal appeals people to vote AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal says, "The people of Delhi have to make up their minds on what they want. These are not my elections, these are the elections of the people of Delhi." 8 am: Voting begins amid tight security Polling for the 70-member Delhi Assembly elections began at 8 am amid tight security at over 11,000 polling stations out of which 630 have been identified as critical and hyper critical. In Delhi, ruling Congress is engaged in an electoral battle with BJP, while new entrant in the fray Aam Admi Party`s possible impact is being watched keenly. A total of 1.19 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise, out of which 66.11 lakh are men and 53.20 lakh are women. The number of first time voters is 4.05 lakh. A total of 810 candidates are in the fray in the three-cornered contest between Congress, BJP and AAP. While BJP has fielded candidates in 66 constituencies Congress and AAP are contesting from all 70 seats. BSP, which was the third largest party in last Assembly election, has fielded candidates at 69 seats, NCP in nine and Samajwadi Party at 27 seats. A total of 224 independents are also in the fray. A total of 32,801 personnel of Delhi Police and 107 companies of central paramilitary forces have been deployed to ensure peaceful elections. In a bid to boost voter turnout, nine `model` polling stations with spruced-up infrastructure have been set up for the first time.