The Northeast Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, which has Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari, former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and AAP’s Dilip Pandey in the fray, recorded the highest turnout at 63.45 per cent in the polls today. The constituency comprises Muslim dominated assembly segments like the riot-hit Seelampur, which recorded a turnout of 71.4%. Mustafabad, Babarpur, and Seema Puri, all Muslim dominated areas recorded 70.55%, 65.4%, and 68.08% voter turnouts, respectively.
Voter turnout in Shahdara was 65.78 per cent whereas it was 68.36 per cent in Matia Mahal.
The constituencies with substantial Muslim population which registered a turnout less than the overall turnout were Chandni Chowk was recorded at 60.91 per cent, Rithala at 59.62 per cent, Ballimaran at 58.28 per cent, and Okhla at 58.83 per cent.
After a sluggish start, the evening voter percentage in Delhi saw a sharp uptick as about 60 per cent of voter turnout. The national capital had recorded a voter turnout of 67.12 per cent in the 2015 assembly elections.
On the eve of the Delhi assembly elections, the mosques in the riot-hit Seelampur and Okhla have urged Muslims to vote in large numbers on Saturday, reported Hindustan Times. These are the very areas where Muslim mobs had gone on a rampage and caused riots as a result of their opposition to CAA. It is also worthy to note that Congress and AAP leaders were booked for the anti-CAA riots in these areas by Muslim mobs.
Following an incident on Friday in which two gunmen allegedly fired four rounds near a shop in the area, the Imam has urged people to make sure that they vote, adding that residents in the locality which come under the riot-hit Seelampur constituency should not be deterred by such “gunfire incidents”.
Though no person was injured in the firing, the local Muslims have now decided to vote in large numbers for reasons that range from education to civic issues.
In the run-up to the Delhi Assembly polls, Muslim-dominated areas of Seelampur saw unprecedented violence led by Muslim mobs to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Delhi was the epicentre of the anti-CAA riots, which later spread to different parts of the country. The Muslim mob in Delhi’s Seelampur had unleashed the violence against public infrastructure and pelted stones at the police injuring many of them. The violent protestors had even attacked school buses in Delhi’s Seelampur area.
There have been serious allegations against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP for instigating riots in Delhi by inciting Muslim mobs against the Modi government ahead of the Delhi assembly elections under the guise of protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act, which has nothing to do with Indian Muslims.
Shockingly, Aam Aadmi Party led by Arvind Kejriwal has given tickets to people who are associated with instigating riots in Delhi during the anti-CAA riots. AAP has fielded Abdul Rehman to contest from New Delhi’s Seelampur constituency in upcoming elections. Rehman along with ex-Congress MLA Mateen Ahmed has been named in an FIR by Delhi Police for ‘provoking the crowd’ to join the protests.
