NEW DELHI 26 MAY 2024 SUNDAY `12 PAGES 26 facebook/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard https://epaper.morningstandard.in Learning to Fly DIY ANOTHER DAY PLUS: 12 PAGES FROZEN ASSETS MAGAZINE Independence Woman EXCLUSIVE VOICES Anand Neelakantan Utkarsh Amitabh Ganesh Saili Anu Aggarwal WE ARE THE WORLD Of Battles Bygone Debashis Chatterjee Prabhu Chawla Shankkar Aiyar Geetha Ravichandran Broken, Not Stirred SWAMI SUKHABODHANANDA SPEAKS Learning from Climbers City voting dips 6%, mercury up @ 430 C Children among 22 dead in huge fire at 2019 poll percentage was little over 60% No reports of violence amid EC measures & tight security arrangements DWINDLING BALLOT COUNT A S H I S H S R I VA STAVA @ New Delhi DELHI’S overall voting percentage across seven parliamentary constituencies stood at 54.3% — more than 6% lower than the previous 2019 election when the Capital city recorded a 60.6% turnout. While the North East Delhi constituency recorded the highest turnout, with 58.30% voting, the New Delhi seat recorded the lowest, with 51.54%. According to the EC, a total of 1.52 crore people — 82 lakh men, 69 lakh women and 1,228 from the third gender — were eligible to vote for a largely bipolar fight between BJP and the AAP-Congress alliance. As many as 162 candidates are in the fray for the seven parliamentary seats. Experts attributed the lower turnout to the heat wave as Delhi remained under the Orange category of the weatherman. The city recorded maximum temparature of 43.4 degrees Celsius on Saturday Due to the . hot weather, people were seen queuing up before polling booths in the early hours of voting. “I heard about the heat wave. To escape waiting in this hot weather, I decided to vote HOW 7 CONSTITUENCIES VOTED East Delhi: 54.79% Chandni Chowk: 56.43% North West: 53.81% South Delhi: 53.53% West Delhi: 57.51% New Delhi: 51.98% North East: 59.09% Farmers from Yamuna Khadar on their way to a polling station to cast their votes; Voters ouside a booth | PTI & PARVEEN NEGI 1st-time voters euphoric Poor polling in Faridabad CM raps ex-Pak minister Enthusiasm among first-time voters was visible as they queued up before the polling booths since early in the morning. Similarly, senior citizens reached their respective polling booths early to beat the heat. P3 Faridabad constituency registered the lowest voting percentage at 59.7% among 10 Haryana seats. Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh is seeking reelection from Gurugram, which recorded 60.6% turnout. CM Kejriwal chastised former Pakistan minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain after he called for the defeat of “forces of hate and extremism” in polls, saying he will not tolerate interference by the “biggest sponsors of terrorism” P4 early,” said 61-year-old Narottam Das from Alaknanda. The poll largely remained uneventful with sporadic complaints of malfunctioning. The contestants fought with enthusiasm and parties strived hard to swing votes in their favour until the last moment. CPM leader Brinda Karat said she had to wait for about 50 minutes to cast her vote at St Columba’s School in the New Delhi constituency She alleged . that the battery of an EVM control unit at her polling booth “drained out.” However, the District Election Officer, New Delhi, rejected her claims and said the battery of the control unit was replaced within 15 minutes. Delhi ministers Ati- shi and Saurabh Bharadwaj also complained about irregularities. In conversation with the voters, several distinct features came to light — despite efforts from the contestants, the national and contemporary issues overpowered the local development promises. MORE REPORTS ON PG 3, 4, 7, 9 & 10 60% voter turnout in 6th phase amid high stakes P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi PRESSINTAKE Election Commission releases absolute numbers for 5 phases | P9 Anantnag records highest poll percentage in 4 decades | P10 OVER 60% voter turnout was recorded for the sixth and penultimate phase of the Lok Sabha elections held on Saturday As many as 58 seats across . eight states and Union Territories (UTs), including all 10 seats of Haryana and seven of Delhi, voted in this round of polling. Several politicians and prominent personalities, including President Droupadi Murmu, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, Union minister S Jaishankar, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were among others who cast their votes in the national capital. Stakes are high for the BJPled NDA as it won 40 seats out of the 58 in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Though the other INDIA bloc partners won five seats in 2019, the Congress scored a duck. With six phases of the election now concluded, voting for 486 seats is over. The contest in Delhi and Haryana is crucial for the Opposition parties as they hope to increase the tally in these states. The contest in the national capital is keenly watched as the INDIA bloc parties — the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are taking on the BJP . While the BJP which swept all , seven seats of Delhi in 2014 and 2019 and is looking for a hattrick, the Opposition is fighting tooth and nail. The AAP is contesting four seats while the Congress has fielded candidates in three seats as per their seat-sharing agreement. While the BJP won all 10 seats in Haryana in 2019, the Congress is hoping to make a dent this time due to factors such as anti-incumbency and the anger among the farmers. RAJOURI RECORD While West Bengal recorded the highest turnout at 78.20%, that for the J&K’s AnantnagRajouri stood at 52.92%, the highest in 40 years. Uttar Pradesh’s turnout was 54.03% and Haryana 59.28%, according to the EC’s voter turnout app at 9.45 pm Kangana sweats it out against royal scion H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Mandi AMONG the most watched duels this poll season is the one at Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi where Bollywood ‘Queen’ Kangana Ranaut is cutting her electoral teeth on behalf of the BJP against Vikramaditya Singh of the Congress. It’s like an open air theater where an ebullient but inexperience candidate is sweating it out against a seasoned neta. Kangana’s glam quotient is high but so is her tendency for loose talk by straying off the script, making headlines for all the wrong reasons. The party is learning to manage the impulsive actor and trying keep her away from harm’s way . Her opponent is a pedigreed minister in the Sukhvinder Singh ‘Sukhu’ government, as he is a scion of the erstwhile Rampur royal family The . son of late six-time CM Virbhadra Singh, he was the face of intra-par- ty rebellion in the state till Sonia Gandhi personally requested him to enter the fray That gave him an opportunity . to prove his leadership credentials. Both sides are indulging in name calling as Kangana labeled Vikramaditya ‘Chhota Pappu’ — a pejorative linked to party leader Rahul Gandhi — and a spoilt prince. For his part, Vikramaditya called her a comedian and a political tourist. Kangana is banking on her celebrity image, Prime Minis- Kangana Ranaut (R) and Vikramaditya Singh ILLUSTRATION: MANDAR PARDIKAR ter Narendra Modi’s pull and the Ram temple issue. She has support from unexpected quarters — the scion of Kullu Maheshwar Singh, who was a BJP ticket aspirant from Mandi; former Union minister Sukh Ram’s grandson Ashray Sharma, who was defeated by the BJP’s Ram Swaroop Sharma in the last Lok Sabha polls; and Kargil hero Brig Khushal Singh, who lost to Vikramaditiya’s mother Pratibha Singh in the 2021 parliamentary bypolls. “When Bollywood considered me an outsider, the BJP chose me to serve the people of Mandi,” says Kangana. She tries to connect with the masses by speaking in Mandiyali and sporting the local attire. As for Vikramaditya, he has support from the Samyukt Kisan Manch, since Kangana criticised farmers during their agitation. The Mandi seat covers six districts and 17 assembly segments. While the upper areas of Lahaul & Sipiti, Manali, Kullu, Rampur, Kunnar and Bharamur are inclined towards Vikramditya, the lower regions like Mandi, Anni, Karsog, Sundernagar and Nachan are tilted towards the BJP . CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 60.6% 54.49% 2019 2024 SATURDAY SALIENCE Voting on Saturday allowed people to merge the holiday with Buddha Purnima. Many people in the national capital had the opportunity to enjoy an extended weekend Elderly voters displayed determination by braving the scorching heat to cast their ballots. There were 97,823 voters aged above 85. More than 5,400 voters opted for the home-voting facility Rajkot gaming zone DILIP SINGH KSHATRIYA @ Ahmedabad AT least 22 people, including children, were killed in a massive fire at a gaming zone in Gujarat’s Rajkot city on Saturday , police said. When the fire broke out, over 30 children and their parents were believed to be trapped inside TRP game zone on Kalavad Road in the city according to lo, cal eyewitnesses. The source of the blaze was an explosion in the air conditioning unit possibly triggered by a short circuit, they said. “So far we have confirmed the death of 22 persons in the fire incident. The bodies are completely charred and it is difficult to identify them,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police Vinayak Patel. Police Commissioner Raju Bhargav said, “I cannot confirm the cause of the fire; it requires probe.” Rajkot Collector Prabhav Joshi said the Fire Control Room received a call around 4:30 pm regarding the blaze. The fire safety personnel were facing difficulty in dousing it as it was a windy day a Rajkot , The TRP game zone in Rajkot on fire | X Fire Officer said. Besides, a temporary structure inside the gaming zone collapsed making the rescue effort even more difficult, the fire official added. Following the accident, the local administration asked all gaming zones in the city to cease operations. They plan to conduct comprehensive fire safety measures. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief at the loss of lives and said the local administration is working to provide all possible assistance to those affected.
Express Network Private Limited publishes thirty three E-paper editions of The New Indian Express newspaper , thirty two E-paper editions of Dinamani, one E-paper edition of The Morning Standard, one E-paper edition of Malayalam Vaarika magazine and one E-paper edition of the Indulge - The Morning Standard, Kolkatta.