Harsh Vardhan relaxed on eve of results

“Today is like any other day for me…I am relaxed and just waiting for the election results,” Bharatiya Janata Party chief ministerial candidate Harsh Vardhan said on Saturday.

The mood in his house was jovial as supporters gathered with bouquets of flowers. The constant buzz of mediapersons approaching him for interviews was contrary to Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s residence, where the scene seemed calmer.

“I am confident of the party’s win, so there is no question of being nervous or tense. I am relaxed and hoping for the best outcome,” Dr. Vardhan told The Hindu. He added that his family was also relaxed. “Of course, everyone is hoping for a positive result,” he said.

Referring to the exit polls that did not indicate a straight win for his party, Dr. Vardhan said: “There is no question of the BJP forming an alliance with any other party. I am confident that the party will get a clear majority.” A hung Assembly was only media speculation he added.

Though exhausted after a long campaign, Dr. Vardhan said there was no question of taking a break. “If we win, we will have to ensure that the formation of government happens in a smooth manner and there will be more work for me as well as the party,” he said. Talking about the response in his Krishna Nagar constituency, Dr. Vardhan said it had been overwhelming. On observing superstitions before important days, he said: “I only believe in karma…”

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Malfunctioning EVM fails to deter Kalam from voting

Former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was among a large number of voters in several constituencies in Delhi who on Wednesday faced problems in exercising their franchise because of malfunctioning of EVMs.

As the electronic voting machine did not function properly, Mr. Kalam, who had gone to a polling booth at K. Kamraj Marg in New Delhi constituency waited for some time and then returned home.

He came back after an hour when the fault was rectified and polling started smoothly.

Voting was also delayed by around an hour at the Aurangzeb Lane polling station due to malfunctioning of EVM.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, senior BJP leader L.K. Advani’s daughter Pratibha and Sunil Bharti Mittal cast their vote at this polling station.

People in many polling booths in Tughlaqabad, Karol Bagh, Trilokpuri, Jungpura and Badarpur said they had to wait for a long time to cast their votes due to snag in EVMs.

An EVM in Bhogal area in Jungpura constituency developed a snag early morning which was fixed by EC officials and voters who had exercised their franchise were asked to recast their votes again.

“One of the EVMs developed technical snag following which we called in the technical staff and the machine was replaced and 12 people who had cast their votes were asked to recast,” a polling official said.

Election Commission officials admitted that there were glitches in the EVMs in several constituencies but said they were replaced within the first hour of the polling.

“We have replaced a total of 112 EVMs,” said an EC official.

There were several complaints of malfunctioning of EVMs from many assembly constituencies.

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