Delhi recorded an approximate voter turnout of 55.16 per cent on Saturday as the polling was held across seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital during the sixth and penultimate phase of General Elections.

Polling across all the constituencies was held smoothly and peacefully.

According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the NCT of Delhi recorded an approximate voter turnout of 55.16 per cent.

Among the seven constituencies, North East Delhi had the maximum voter turnout of 59.09 per cent.

Chandni Chowk –54.79 per cent, East Delhi — 54.79 per cent, New Delhi–51.98 per cent, North East Delhi–59.09 per cent, North West Delhi–53.81 per cent, South Delhi–53.26 per cent and West Delhi–56.85 per cent.

Despite a scorching heat during the day, voters turned out in large numbers during early hours to exercise their right to franchise at polling booths in seven parliamentary constituencies in Delhi for the sixth phase of Lok Sabha polls.

The voter turnout was slow during the afternoon due to the heat wave. However, the voter turnout gained pace towards evening.

President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar along with his wife Sudesh Dhankhar, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal along with his wife Sunita Kejriwal, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar, accompanied by their families, former Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra, along with his wife Neelu Chandra, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and party MP Rahul Gandhi, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal were among prominent persons who cast their votes during the morning hours.

President Droupadi Murmu cast her vote at a polling booth in the national capital. After casting her vote, President Murmu showed her inked finger.

Vice President Dhankhar along with his wife Sudesh Dhankhar also arrived at a polling booth in Delhi to cast their vote. They showed their inked fingers after casting their votes.

Dhankhar said,”…Voting is both a responsibility and a power. India is the world’s most vibrant, active and effective democracy.”

After casting his vote, Kejriwal said, “My father, wife, children and I have voted. My mother could not come today because she is not well. I have voted against dictatorship, inflation and unemployment. I appeal to people to come out and vote…”

Meanwhile, after casting her vote, Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal said, “It is a very big day for democracy. I want to appeal to everyone, especially women to come out and cast their votes. In India, women’s participation in politics is very important.”

During the day, Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, accompanied by his wife Kalpana Das, cast their votes at a polling booth here.

After voting, the CJI said, “Today by voting, I have fulfilled my duties as a citizen of the country.”

Other prominent persons who had cast their votes in the morning hours were External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar; Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri along with his wife Lakshmi Puri; BJP candidate from East Delhi Lok Sabha seat, Harsh Malhotra and BJP Lok Sabha candidate from New Delhi, Bansuri Swaraj, Delhi Cabinet Ministers–Saurabh Bharadwaj, Atishi and Kailash Gahlot, Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora, BJP’s North West Delhi candidate Yogendra Chandolia, BJP East Delhi MP and former India Cricketer Gautam Gambhir, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, BJP candidate from West Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, Kamaljeet Sehrawat.

Praveen Khandelwal, BJP candidate from Chandni Chowk and Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, candidate from South Delhi also exercised their voting rights.

BJP candidate Manoj Tiwari from North East Delhi, Delhi State Haj Committee Chairperson Kausar Jahan, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury also exercised their voting rights.

Voting in all seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital began this morning amid tight security arrangements. The seven parliamentary constituencies are Chandni Chowk, East Delhi, New Delhi, North East Delhi, North West Delhi, South Delhi, and West Delhi.

The voting commenced at 7 am. There are a total of 13,637 polling stations and the number of candidates contesting in the seven Lok Sabha constituencies is 162.

Over 1.52 crore electorate are eligible to cast their vote in Delhi. “As per Electoral Roll Data, there are a total of 1,52,01,936 electors,” election officials said.

Polling in Delhi is being held in a single phase on all seven Lok Sabha seats in a close contest between the BJP and the Opposition INDIA bloc, comprising the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress.

The AAP and Congress are contesting the seven seats in alliance in the national capital, with the AAP contesting four and the Congress three seats.

Key candidates contesting the polls from the BJP are Manoj Tiwari (North East Delhi), Bansuri Swaraj (New Delhi); Ramvir Singh Bidhuri (South Delhi) while J P Agarwal (Chandni Chowk) and Kanhaiya Kumar (North East Delhi) are contesting on Congress tickets. Another prominent candidate is senior AAP leader Somnath Bharti (New Delhi).

Delhi Metro train services on all lines commenced at 4 am from all terminal stations on the day of the Lok Sabha polls in the national capital.

The counting of votes will take place on June 4.