By IANS,
New Delhi : Polling agents reported a good voter turnout in the capital during the day, as daytime temperatures hovered around 38 degrees Celsius, three degrees below the average.
“I was sceptical about stepping out in the sun, but it’s not too hot. I would have come and voted anyway, but the fact that the weather is good helps,” said Satish Khanna, a voter in New Delhi constituency after he cast his vote.
According to the meteorological department, the maximum temperature was recorded at 38 degrees at 2.30 p.m. Thursday.
Some candidates were, however, concerned that the afternoon sun had affected voter turnout in some areas like North West Delhi, where voter turnout till 1.30 p.m. was 16.5 percent – the rest of Delhi saw nearly 30 percent turnout.
“It’s very hot and sunny outside – that is probably why people here haven’t come out to vote. As it gets cooler, more people will come out to cast their vote,” said Sanjay Gullah, the president of the Rohini ward Congress committee, who has been urging people to come out and vote.
“It is not very hot today so we expect a lot of people to turn up. Covered waiting areas and water have been made available at all the polling stations,” Delhi’s chief electoral officer (CEO) Satbir Silas Bedi told IANS.
The minimum temperature is likely to be around 24.8 degrees Celsius. The decline in temperature has been due to showers in the capital in the past few days. However, a meteorological official said that there was no possibility of rain Thursday.
A heat wave in parts of India last week lowered voter turnout on April 30 – the third phase of polling in the five phase general elections.