At 46%, turnout heavier than expected

NEW DELHI: The

civic bypolls

to 13 wards saw a turnout of 45.9% on Sunday. Of the 6,68,870 registered voters, 3,06,990 turned up in the 694 polling stations to cast their vote.

South Corporation's Bhati ward saw the maximum turnout at 64.36%. At Matiala, in contrast, a mere 33% turned up.

Delhi state election commissioner

Rakesh Mehta said: "

Voting

percentage is decent compared to the previous municipal bypolls as these usually don't see a high turnout." Of the 13 wards that went to polls, seven are in South Corporation, two in East and four in North.

First-timers as well as the elderly turned up in large numbers on Sunday with varied issues at top of their minds. At the Jhilmil ward, Ratna Devi (87) was among the oldest voters. "I don't know if my vote is going to make any difference, but as long as I am alive, I am going to exercise my right to vote."

The first-timers were an excited lot. "I always wanted to vote and now it feels great," said Disha Singh, a resident of Jhilmil ward.

At an RK Puram booth, there was a clear divide between those living in JJ clusters and government quarters. Jitender Prasad, a resident of Sector 6, RK Puram, said safety was the primary issue. "The councillor should look at the threat posed by JJ clusters in this ward," he said. Madan and Jeevanthi Singh said that there was tension between sarkaari quarter residents and slum dwellers and the councillor needed to resolve the issue at the earliest.

Others are pinning hopes on change. Akhil Sharma (26) said: "In a 5-km radius, there is not a single playground. I hope things will change," he said. For Anup Sharma, a resident of Khichripur in east Delhi, governance is the key issue. "BJP has been ruling the municipal corporations for 10 years, but has done nothing to improve our wards," said Sharma.

While political functionaries sought to keep people's spirits high at the booths, police personnel were out in strength to ensure security. The Ballimaran ward, in particular, saw heavy police presence as the booths were labelled "sensitive". At one station there, an EVM had to be replaced because of some defect.

AAP MLA Imran Hussain, whose brother-in-law is contesting from Ballimaran, was reportedly spotted encouraging residents to vote for AAP. "Delhi has never seen state election officials so shamelessly oblige the Delhi government ministers and MLAs," said Satish Upadhyay, Delhi BJP chief. Rakesh Mehta denied the allegations.