Ahead of municipal polls in Delhi, state election body draws plans for surveys at booth level

In past elections, sensitive polling booths have been marked in areas such as Okhla, Shaheen Bagh, Bawana, Narela, Trilokpuri and Babarpur among others .

In the run-up to the municipal elections in Delhi, the state poll body has initiated the process to identify sensitive booths in the 272 municipal wards across the city, an official said on Monday.

The current terms of municipal corporations in North, South and East MCD will expire in April. (File photo. Representative image)

In the 2017 elections, 799 booths in the city were marked as “sensitive” and 208 were marked as “hyper sensitive”. The election commission official said the vulnerability of booths is judged on various factors including topography, history of polling, cases of violence and demography. In past elections, sensitive polling booths have been marked in areas such as Okhla, Shaheen Bagh, Bawana, Narela, Trilokpuri and Babarpur among others .

“Inputs from police officials will be taken to finalise the list of sensitive polling stations. Northeast Delhi, which witnessed communal violence in 2020, and other regions where tensions may erupt will also be assessed. Such polling stations will require more resources, security deployment, enhanced surveillance and videography,” the official said.

In the last municipal elections in 2017, 56,000 police officials, 40 companies of paramilitary forces and 20,000 home guards were deployed.

Last week, the state election commission notified 72 returning officers and declared the list of 160 reserved wards- 46 for Scheduled caste category candidates and 114 for women. Delhi had 13,141 polling stations in the last municipal elections. which will be increased this time to ensure there is no crowding in view of the Covid pandemic.

A second election commission official said around 22,000 polling booths will be set up for which demand of polling party has already been sent to the government and various departments.

The current terms of municipal corporations in North, South and East MCD will expire in April.

Over the last 15 years, BJP has been in control of the municipal corporations of the city. In 2017 municipal elections, BJP secured 181 seats, the AAP won 49 seats, and the Congress managed to win 31 seats.