The Hindu : New Delhi News : Pushta booths declared hypersensitive

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 09, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Pushta booths declared hypersensitive

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, MAY 8. Some 36 polling booths in the Capital's Yamuna Pushta area catering to about 30,000 voters of the New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency have suddenly become the centre of attraction for all: the candidates, the security agencies and the Election Commission. In all, the constituency has 455,114 voters.

While the Congress is making all-out efforts to ensure that voters of the area, their traditional supporters who were recently relocated in Holambi Kalan, come back to cast their votes, the BJP is apprehending large-scale bogus voting and has prepared an action plan to tackle the same. But there is strong resentment among the former residents of the Yamuna Pushta against the Union Tourism and Culture Minister, Jagmohan, as they hold him responsible for their eviction from their homes on the river bed and are all eager to settle scores with the BJP. The Congress has fielded the Delhi Assembly Speaker, Ajay Maken, from the New Delhi constituency.

Given the resentment among the voters and intelligence agencies apprehending violence on polling day, 22 booths in Kanchanpuri have been declared hypersensitive by the police. As such, a day before polling the booths have been converted into near fortresses with the police and other agencies keeping a close watch on the movement of residents in the area.

In fact, on Friday senior Election Commission of India officials visited these booths to take stock of the arrangements along with the top police officials.

The same evening, the Delhi Chief Secretary, Shailaja Chandra, along with the Chief Electoral Officer for Delhi, Arun Goyal, and senior officials of the police and civic bodies also visited Yamuna Pushta to review the arrangements for polling day. Besides personal frisking, the voters here would also have to pass through metal detectors.

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