Nine per cent polling in Delhi

Brisk polling was witnessed in the national capital on Thursday during the early hours of voting with around nine per cent of 1.1 crore-strong electorate exercising their franchise.

Delhiites turned out in substantial numbers as soon as the polling began at 7 a.m., with long queues being witnessed at several polling booths across all the seven constituencies.

The Chief Electoral Office said nine per cent of the voters have exercised their franchise in the first two hours of polling.

President Pratibha Patil, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, her son and Amethi MP Rahul and daughter Priyanka were among the early voters in the capital.

Gandhi was accompanied by Dikshit and Congress candidate from New Delhi constituency Ajay Maken when she exercised her franchise at the polling booth in Nirman Bhavan.

After casting her vote, Priyanka expressed hope that Congress will win all the seven seats in the capital.

Senior citizens, first time voters and women were seen in large numbers in queues at polling stations.

In Tilak Nagar of West Delhi constituency, 91-year-old Vishambar Das came along with his 80-year-old wife Krishnawati to vote. "I came with a desire that government should do good work and should work for people like us," Das said.

An 81-year-old woman was one of the early voters at the Nirman Bhavan polling booth, a VIP polling booth in the capital where political heavyweights are exercising their franchise.

In Jamia Nagar, where a gunbattle in September last year between suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorists and police created ripples in the area, polling began on a low note in the morning.

A substantial number of policemen were posted near the polling booth in Jamia Nagar and strict checking was done by security personnel.

Deputy Chief Electoral Officer J K Sharma said there were complaints of non-functioning of EVMs in two polling booths in Laxmi Nagar area of East Delhi Lok Sabha seat and were set right later.

There were also reports of non-functioning of EVMs in a polling booth in Kamla Market of Chandni Chowk seat