Hinganghat woman set ablaze by jilted lover, succumbs

By

-

February 10, 2020

The expiry of 25-year-old woman lecturer while undergoing treatment at a hospital in the city has raised queries about woman security in the State. The woman Ankita Pisudde, resident of Hinganghat town in Wardha was in a critical condition after sustaining 35 to 40 per cent “grade III” burns on February 3 when she was set on fire allegedly by one Vikesh Nagrale while she was on way to her college. She was undergoing treatment at the Orange City Hospital & Research Centre located around 75 km from Wardha.

Senior Advocate Abha Singh said, “According to me, violent crimes against women are on the rise as no one fears the law and also, there is poor conviction rate. The criminal don’t know that breaking the law can have a strong repercussion that is why now people are emboldened in such acts. Also in India, if a woman says no to his advances then the man is not ready to accept it and is ready to kill her.”

When asked whether she( Ankita Pisudde) will get justice, she said, “She will get justice but final punishment will be decided at a later date because of poor conviction rate.”

“Doctors at the hospital declared her dead at 6.55 am today,” Hinganghat’s police inspector Satyaveer Bandiwar said. The woman sustained deep burn injuries on scalp, face, right upper limb, left hand, upper back, neck and eyes along with severe inhalational injuries, the hospital said in a medical bulletin on Monday. She died of septicemic shock after suffering from deep dermal burns along with severe inhalational injuries, respiratory distress and related complications.

Activist Trupti Desai said, “I think the government should follow the rule introduced by the Andhra Pradesh government apropos the Disha bill and the accused will get punishment within 6 months. Then only will the justice be served.”

Around 4 am on Monday, her oxygen levels fell down in spite of having a ventilator support coupled with decreasing urine output and reduction in blood pressure, the hospital said. As part of immediate resuscitation measures, medicines were escalated to maintain the blood pressure and all feasible steps were taken to improve the oxygen levels in the blood but the patient remained “extremely critical”, it said. “Around 6.30 am, she had bradycardia and in spite of prolonged cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the patient could not be revived and was declared dead at 6.55 am,” it said. The victim a postgraduate in Botany was completing her B Ed degree.

Advocate Vibin Nair said, “It is very disturbing to hear what happened with the young lecturer. My prayers are with her family. The law will take its own course on the perpetrator. A fast track court must be set-up immediately and the perpetrator should be brought to justice to the woman at the earliest. It can be easily said that the remedy of bail although available won’t be of much help to the perpetrator. Capital punishment will also be looked upon by the Hon’ble Court as the act will fall under the rarest of rare criminal acts.”

During her treatment, she underwent tracheostomy (creating an opening in neck to place a tube into the windpipe to allow air to enter the lungs), burn dressings, debridement and escharotomies, the hospital informed. Debridement is a medical procedure to remove dead, damaged or infected tissues while escharotomy is a surgical procedure used to treat full-thickness (third-degree) circumferential burns. The doctors had earlier stated that oxygen level in her blood had decreased alarmingly. The blood pressure too was fluctuating drastically.

Advocate Asim Sarode said, “We always see justice in the form of punishment and that become very incident centric if we talk about justice. Overall, we should consider that there are some problems in the system that we need to cure. And talking about the justice then definitely the accused will get punishment but we cannot decide the time period because the court has to follow the process.”

The woman’s parents and uncle were kept informed about her deteriorating health condition and death, the hospital said, adding that the body was later handed over to police for postmortem and other formalities. After the woman’s condition deteriorated, the hospital informed about her critical status to Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, Wardha Guardian Minister Sunil Kedar, Nagpur Divisional Commissioner Sanjeev Kumar, Police Commissioner Bhushan Kumar Upadhyay, Wardha Collector Vivek Bhimanwar and Wardha Superintendent of Police Basavraj Teli.

According to the police report, the accused poured petrol on the woman’s face and set her on fire. However, a passerby doused the fire and rushed the woman to a nearby hospital. Nagrale, who was arrested soon after the incident, and the woman were friends till two years ago when she severed ties with him due to his “irrational behaviour”. After not getting any response from her, Nagrale committed the crime in a fit of rage. Nagrale is a married man and has a seven-month-old son. He works in a private firm at Balharshah. He had even tried to commit suicide last year.

According to the deceased cousin Shubham Pisudde, Nagrale had been harassing her for the last many years despite repeated warnings. Her marriage (engagement) was broken last year due to Nagrale.

Around 7,000 people, including members of political parties, women and college students, marched from Nanduri Chowk to Ambedkar Square in Wardha town, demanding a fast- tracked trial and death penalty for the accused. A few demonstrators also demanded that the accused be “handed over to the public for ten minutes”. Residents of Hinganghat town and neighbouring areas also called for a shut-down.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray asked the police to ensure that the accused was convicted. Thackeray took a serious note of the incident, a statement from his office said, adding that expenses of the woman’s treatment would be borne from the Chief Minister’s Medical Assistance Fund. The Maharashtra State Commission for Women on directed the Wardha Superintendent of Police to submit a report on the incident.

The state government on Tuesday flew Navi Mumbai-based National Burns Centre director Sunil Keswani to Nagpur to supervise the woman’s treatment.

The accused has been booked under Indian Penal Code Sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 326-A (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid, etc) and sent in police custody.

Leaders expressed their grief over this incident

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said, “The incident is so barbaric that words are not enough to describe it. I will plead to everyone to have patience. The suspects will be punished soon. This government will take strict action.”

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said, “I have spoken to the public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam to ensure that the verdict is out at the earliest and the victim is given justice. We will provide assistance to the family in every possible way and one of the family members will be provided a government job.”

NCP leader Supriya Sule said, “Saddened to hear that the Hinganghat victim lost her life earlier this morning. This case will be heard in Fast Track Court and State Government will ensure that justice is done. My heartfelt condolences with her family. May she rest in peace.”

State Housing Minister Dr Jitendra Awhad said, “This incident is an insult to the progressive state of Maharashtra. Injustice has been meted against the victim in a state where Jijamata, Ramabai were born. This not a defeat of woman but the defeat of culture and tradition of Maharashtra.”

Maharashtra Water Resources Minister Jayant Patil said, “Citizens are venting their anger over the shocking incident happened in Hinganghat. The government and judiciary will take strict action against the accused. People should remain calm and cooperate with the government.”

Maharashtra Social Justice Minister Dhananjay Munde said, “Cruelty has no place in Maharashtra. The government is working towards providing justice to the victim and her family. Through this incident we need to think about where progressive Maharashtra is heading.”

Nothing much has changed for the feminine gender

By

Vaidehi Taman

-

February 10, 2020

In the era of equality, nothing much has changed. Women/girls are molested, raped and burned alive by their male counterparts. In a way, nothing much has changed for the daughters of India. In our country of an estimated 20 million commercial sex workers, 16 million women and girls are victims of sex trafficking according to non-government organisations working in India. Most of the poor girls are pushed into the sex trade by family members to counter poverty. The father literally bargains for perks while letting go his daughter in an agent’s hand. Once the girls were gone, families rarely find out what had happened to them and had no further communication at all. Researchers have found 78 per cent of girls sold for commercial sexual exploitation were from West Bengal. Official data in 2019 showed that West Bengal accounted for about a fifth of India’s 5,466 cases of human trafficking with the state both a source and a transit location for women and children trafficked into the sex trade. Reports of human trafficking in India rose 25 per cent in 2015 compared to that of the previous year with more than 40 per cent of cases involving children being bought, sold and exploited as slaves, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.

In the recent past, a study led by the My Choices Foundation in partnership with major anti-trafficking groups across India found that the average age of girls being trafficked had fallen to the ages between 10 to 14 in recent years from 14-16 in the past. Fathers in rural India are the targets of a new campaign to stop traffickers trapping young girls into the sex trade as research showed the average age of girls forced into prostitution had dropped with some as young as eight. But a key finding was the role of fathers with researchers discovering that traffickers were convincing fathers to give away their daughters by promising to arrange a marriage without the need to pay a dowry to the boy’s family or a job in a metro city. Apart from selling or bartering daughters, large number of missing girls are mostly found in flesh trade especially from rural areas. Researchers also found that during work in the fields, parents were also unwilling to report a missing girl complaint to the police fearing stigma. A few months ago, there were two minor tribal girls of the same family aged 12 and 14 who went missing from Lemru village of Korba district. They were later rescued from 11 traffickers including three women.

The girls were raped by six ‘customers’ and were kept confined at a farmhouse. One of them was almost sold and she was supposed to be sent to another city for flesh trade. Girl trafficking is strengthening its roots in tribal dominated regions or in the rural villages where jobs and economy is big crises. On grounds of providing jobs in metro cities and also locally, girls get exploited. Last year, a 17-year-old girl was sold and pushed into flesh trade in Thane, Mumbai. She hailed from Bangladesh and was repeatedly raped by her friend’s acquaintance who promised her to marriage at her native place. In the same month, he sold her to agents (involved in trafficking) in Bangladesh who in-turn sold her to their counterparts in India. The girl was subsequently brought to Thane district; she was taken to customers at various places in Thane, Vashi in Navi Mumbai, Mumbai and Bangalore. These days even the social network is used for exploiting these girls. Since they are from villages, they are not educated. The agents take advantage of such situations. They create their FB profiles and even websites; they display their pictures inviting customers. These girls are exploited to the core and if they dare to oppose, they face cruel treatment. There is no one in their lives to fall back on. Trafficking of women from the state to metros has increased though the government has chosen a mystifying silence.

More than 60,000 girls between 12 and 15 years work as domestic workers in Delhi and Mumbai. One girl in every ten families is pushed into prostitution by middlemen who take them to cities with the promise of a job. The government should take steps to stop this violation of human rights. In a male-dominated society, women are not allowed to claim their rights. There is another example, the ‘Rajnat’ community of Rajasthan is struggling to give up prostitution, a profession it has practised for generations. But with no jobs on offer, even for educated members of the community, the girls have been forced to join dance bars in Mumbai. At least, it ensures a decent income and a better future for their children. The ‘rajnats’ or ‘nats’ were dancers and singers in the royal courts but were reduced to utter penury and took to prostitution with the decline of the feudal order. While most girls in the community were pushed into commercial sex, the men functioned as pimps and the tradition has continued. Though in most parts of the State, commercial sex work has been given up, there are pockets where some girls still follow the profession because even the educated men have no jobs and the situation has become even more difficult when it comes to girls. Even if the community want their daughters to be educated and live a respectable life but when they educate the girls, they do not get good grooms as the men are jobless and no one wants to have a matrimonial alliance with this particular community. Even if the community gives up commercial sex work altogether, there is no other option for survival. Each state of India is going through worst for girls; we need some drastic step towards the prevention of such practices. Just saying ‘Beti Bachao’ is not enough.

India is in denial of the fact that a majority of its women do not feel safe alone on the streets, at work, in markets, or at home, even though they have learned how to cope with this existential anxiety.

When I asked a young educated women in Delhi if they feels safe, most of them said no. And most of those who said yes had learned to modify their behaviours to feel safe, they don’t go out alone unnecessarily; come home at night before dark; get permission to go out; are always careful and alert; and they censor their speech, their clothes and their body posture including whether or not they look men in the eyes. Indian women are in a constant state of vigilance like a country on terrorist alert. Satish, a 52-year old banker told me: “For rape there is no fixed time: always be alert.” No democracy is a democracy when half its population lives in fear. India – and the rest of the world – would do well to make women’s safety and freedom central goals of democracy and development, and learn about the science of cultural change.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

30 stray dogs poisoned to death at Morbe village in Panvel

By

Afternoon Voice

-

February 10, 2020

In a most inhuman gesture, nearly 30 stray dogs were poisoned to death at Morbe village in Panvel taluka in the last four days. Activists said that they suspect that the dogs were possibly given food mixed with poison. Animal welfare workers said most of the dogs died a “painful” death. One of them had recently given birth to five puppies.

Talking on the incident, activist Sunil Bhoir said, “We are very disturbed to see how healthy dogs have possibly been killed en masse. Many of them were taken care of by local tribal families staying close to the village water tank while others were adopted by other local residents in the village and adjoining Dwarka housing complex. We have given a written application to Panvel taluka police station on Saturday and have demanded that a post-mortem must be done.

This is not the solution to frequent stray dog bites happening everywhere. “Every gram panchayat must follow the Animal Birth Control programme by utilising funds to sterilise stray dogs and cats. Sterilisation is the only humane and legal way to control dog population,” said another animal welfare worker.

The Panvel taluka police sub-inspector Sanjay Chavan observed, “Various aspects of dog-killing, poisoning are being investigated.”

Car carrying collegians rams into motorcycle in Palghar; 1 died

By

Web Team

-

February 10, 2020

A 35-year-old man killed on Monday after his motorcycle was hit by a car carrying collegians in Palghar. According to a report, the incident took place in the morning at Boisar-Tarapur Road. The car was on was on its way to a college in Boisar when it crashed into the motorcycle near Kurgaon village.

After the crash the motorcyclist Kamlakar Vavare died on the spot. The car overturned due to impact injuring all five occupants. The injured people have been admitted to a nearby hospital for treatment.

A case under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and provisions of Motor Vehicles Act has been registered however, no arrests have been made so far.

Calligraphy is a visual art related to writing

By

Jayanthy Subramaniam

-

February 10, 2020

Over the years, we have moved a long way from writing on stones and leaves to now using computers, threatening traditional pen-and-paper writing practices like calligraphy. Calligraphy is the design and execution of lettering with a broad tip instrument, brush or other writing instruments.

It is quite imperative to note that one must follow some basic methods to write and possess best handwriting. Handwriting reflects your mind and number of old timers got their job just because their handwriting was too good. It is necessary to hold ones pen diagonally at a 30 to 60 degree angle. A calligraphy pen is not used quite the same way as a regular pen. Don’t twist the nib as you write and try to be patient while writing and not to scribble. Lead the nib backwards or sideways across the paper to get the best impression with your artistic mind. Apply light pressure and do not overwrite. Keep your lines parallel.

Typefaces are always telling us something. We receive information through typography. Type influences us, adds coloring to words, sets a mood and atmosphere, assists, teaches, scares us, brings us joy and inspires us. Typography is, foremost, an information medium. At the same time, it fulfills social functions and acts as an indicator of the age it belongs to. The contemporary world has its own rhythm, aesthetic and philosophy; while we are changing, everything is changing around us. In studying historical lettering in calligraphy, we can understand the character and potential of a writing instrument, and, as a result, we can manage its expressive means.

Handwriting is an art form. Just like painting, drawing and sketching, this art can be developed by individuals with some effort. The thrills of calligraphy are too many. Type design and calligraphy should be made main subjects in fine arts colleges rather than be offered as electives in your curriculum. Indian calligraphy is the Indian tradition of calligraphy. The art form has served multiple purposes since its inception in the second century BCE, including the duplication of religious texts and as a form of basic communication.

There was a bigger goal to this style of language than just to communicate with one another. There was no one true form of communication before this was created and calligraphy helped to guide community members to connect in more than one aspect of life, that was not just language. A rich heritage of calligraphy was embraced as this was a time before printing technology was accessible to Indian counties. This brought people closer together as they began to communicate in the same ways. While it may be used as an art form today, it was essential for communication before the 16th century. Mumbai-based master calligrapher Achyut Palav paints visuals with letters of the alphabet.

There are only easy methods. Practice goes behind the speed and finish of the strokes, be it on paper, umbrella or fabric. Ensure that the brush is clean and in good condition. There is no rule. Just go with the flow. Artist’s use of calligraphy has a sense of mystery. While we may not necessarily be able to read the text, the form and titles of the works is self explanatory but do leave room for one’s own experiences with conversation. Writing is not just a way of presenting thoughts and ideas; your own handwriting can also become an important design tool. Just how, though, do you conjure up expressive, creative results simply by putting pen to paper? If you find yourself asking that very question, you have come to the right place! Our aim is to show you how to lend more expression to your own handwriting and to show you both the theoretical and practical basics of calligraphy using edding calligraphy markers.

Happy writing!

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Letters to the Editor: 10 February, 2020

By

Web Team

-

February 10, 2020

1Why punish all if few are responsible for honking mischievously?

Mumbai Traffic police’s decision to install decibel-driven ‘punishment signal’ at 10 junctions across the city on an experiment basis is sans logic. Some mischievous driver with a lot of time at his disposal may honk non-stop for fun and why should others at the signal pay for his madness. Others in the traffic may have a lot of important work to attend and it would also create a traffic jam as some queues may even extend to the previous signal causing chaos and blocking traffic from all sides.

Punish those who honk and not all. It is like a teacher punishing the entire class for the mischief of one or two students. You actually don’t need to honk if traffic discipline is followed as a rule religiously. RTO should keep honking fines exorbitantly high to discourage people from honking. Mumbai is the commercial capital of the country and time is money for most. Doctors and other professionals have important job to attend and some could even be life saving. RTO should rethink on this proposal and only punish those who are responsible for breaking rules!

S.N.Kabra

2Kerala shows the way

The Kerala health ministry under the leadership of Health minister K K Shailaja has to be lauded for the exemplary and stupendous work done to contain the dangerous novel Coronavirus disease which made it’s entry into the state a few days ago with three patients under treatment in isolated wards of hospitals in Trichur, Alappuzha and Kasargod districts in the state. The minister who boldly led the medical team to encounter the deadly Nipah virus epidemic two years back is again back into action to fight yet another deadly virus epidemic now doing the rounds in China and other Asian nations.

Kerala’s preparedness and response to the Coronavirus has been so comprehensive and swift that other states have started to take it’s lessons and tactics to be implemented in their own.

The lesson that Kerala learnt from the Nipah outbreak two years ago , which claimed 17 lives, and the way in which the whole state overcame the epidemic is in itself an action packed story where every citizen of the state had a role to play. The health officials, the police, the panchayats, other local bodies, local health volunteers, politicians, the press and the commoner alerted and supported one another for the containment of Nipah and now the same is being repeated for the Coronavirus epidemic. There is a robust awareness campaign underway. Around 2,239 individuals are under surveillance for Coronavirus and 84 are in hospitals. A tracking system monitors everyone coming into the state from high-risk destinations and also those who have come into contact with suspected cases.
The five international airports in the state is alert to the core and the medical teams are ready 24×7 to trace, track, carry patients and doubtful cases for check up and treatment. The same awareness and tracking is done at seaports and railway stations. Passengers with symptoms are immediately shifted to hospitals. The biggest plus point is that ordinary citizens are also ever ready to help and support the authorities.

Medical professionals have been imparted special training to deal with emergencies. The healthcare facilities and awareness among the people in the state undoubtedly makes the situation sans panic. Awareness, confidence, grit and determination undoubtedly help to overcome such health crisis rather than getting succumbed to pressure, panic and phobia. Half the battle is won when there is no panic and pressure.

M Pradyu

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Stalked Wardha woman dies in hospital

By

Afternoon Voice

-

February 10, 2020

Since last week Afternoon Voice has been getting you the latest on -year-old woman lecturer who was set ablaze by a stalker in Maharashtra’s Wardha district.
The latest is that the 25-year-old woman lecturer has expired while undergoing treatment at a hospital in the city. The lady Ankita Pisudde, resident of Hinganghat town in Wardha was in a critical condition after sustaining 35 to 40 per cent “grade III” burns on February 3 when she was set afire allegedly by one Vikesh Nagrale while she was on way to her college. She was undergoing treatment at the Orange City Hospital & Research Centre located around 75 km from Wardha.

“Doctors at the hospital declared her dead at 6.55 am today,” Hinganghat’s police inspector Satyaveer Bandiwar said. The woman sustained deep burn injuries on scalp, face, right upper limb, left hand, upper back, neck and eyes along with severe inhalational injuries, the hospital said in a medical bulletin on Monday. She died of septicemic shock after suffering from deep dermal burns along with severe inhalational injuries, respiratory distress and related complications, it said.

Around 4 am on Monday,her oxygen levels fell down in spite of having a ventilator support coupled with decreasing urine output and reduction in blood pressure, the hospital said. As part of immediate resuscitation measures, medicines were escalated to maintain the blood pressure and all feasible steps were taken to improve the oxygen levels in the blood but the patient remained “extremely critical”, it said. “Around 6.30 am, she had bradycardia and in spite of prolonged cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the patient could not be revived and was declared dead at 6.55 am,” it said.

During her treatment, she underwent tracheostomy (creating an opening in neck to place a tube into the windpipe to allow air to enter the lungs), burn dressings, debridement and escharotomies, the hospital informed. Debridement is a medical procedure to remove dead, damaged or infected tissues while escharotomy is a surgical procedure used to treat full-thickness (third-degree) circumferential burns.

The woman’s parents and uncle were kept informed about her deteriorating health condition and death, the hospital said, adding that the body was later handed over to police for postmortem and other formalities. After the woman’s condition deteriorated, the hospital informed about her critical status to Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, Wardha Guardian Minister Sunil Kedar, Nagpur Divisional Commissioner Sanjeev Kumar, Police Commissioner Bhushan Kumar Upadhyay, Wardha Collector Vivek Bhimanwar and Wardha Superintendent of Police Basavraj Teli.

Thane man nabbed with fake notes worth Rs 24 lakh at Mumbai airport

By

Hema Singh

-

February 10, 2020

On Sunday, Mumbai crime branch officers arrested a 36-year-old man, who landed from Dubai at the international airport and seized fake currency notes of nearly Rs 24 lakh from the man.

The accused has been identified as Javed Shaikh, a resident of Thane. Santosh Rastogi a joint commissioner of police (crime branch) said, “After interrogation it revealed that the fake notes were brought from Dubai, where it had reached from Pakistan. The man collected the currency from Dubai and was asked by his handler to deliver it in Mumbai. The notes are of high quality and all the security features of the genuine currency have been successfully copied into the notes. We will probe if the money trail is associated with any terror link. ”

Based on specific information from the central agency, the police laid trap at Mumbai international airport and arrested Shaikh from the bus stop of the airport after he arrived from Dubai. After frisking police found fake notes of Rs 2,000 denomination. During the interrogation Shaikh confessed that he been to Dubai for a holiday, where he was handed over the fake currency to deliver in Mumbai.

Police have arrested Shaikh under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sent to police custody after being produced in a holiday court on Sunday.

AEC arrests Tariq Parveen in connection with Ejaz Lakdawala’s extortion syndicate

By

Afternoon Voice

-

February 10, 2020

The Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) of the Mumbai Crime Branch have arrested 53-year-old Tariq Parveen, a close aide of Dawood Ibrahim in connection with gangster Ejaz Lakdawala’s extortion syndicate. The AEC has also registered a fresh case against Lakdawala for allegedly threatening a South Mumbai-based businessman since 2013 and have mentioned the name of Parveen, a top police informer Saleem Maharaj and another arrested accused in the FIR for facilitating the extortion racket and providing information to the gangster.

According to the Crime Branch, Tariq, who was also closely associated with Chhota Shakeel was also working for Lakdawala’s extortion syndicate. Confirming his arrest, Joint Commissioner of Crime Branch Santosh Rastogi said, “During the investigation, some crucial information and evidence against Parveen surfaced. Based on the same, a FIR was registered and he was arrested.

According to Crime Branch sources, Parveen and Maharaj facilitated the extortion racket by providing details of businessmen and builders to Lakdawala. “After getting calls from the gangster, the complainants would meet Parveen and Maharaj for a settlement. The duo would then pass on the information to the gangster,” an officer said.

In another case, 2013-14, the gangster made a Rs. 2 crore ransom call to a South Mumbai-based businessmen who then reached out to Parveen and Maharaj. The duo then assured him of a settlement with the gangster. “Parveen took 3 lakh from the businessman for a settlement. Even after the complainant paid the money, the gangster kept threatening him for more. Then again, he paid both the accused some more money,” the officer added.

Earlier the Thane Anti-Extortion Cell had arrested Parveen in 2018 for murdering a 20- year-old Mumbra-based cable operator.

JHADU all set to clean sweep; Delhi voted for performance

By

Hema Singh

-

February 9, 2020

After the conclusion of Delhi Assembly election, all eyes are awaiting the results that will come out on February 11. Meanwhile, soon after the end of the election process, several websites channels and media houses have come out with their respective exit polls. The exit polls that are the sample surveys conducted among voters exiting polling booths, shows that Aam Aadmi party is all set to come back come back to power for the third time in succession.

Haroon Yusuf, Delhi Congress Leader said,“Congress has delivered promises made by it. The party doesn’t believe in making false promises. In spite of Kejriwal speaking the same thing that he said in 2015, People have voted for him. And because of the current imbroglio in the country, the people desisted from voting for BJP.”

The Delhi exit polls found a strong pro-incumbency wave especially because of CM Arvind Kejriwal’s government’s welfare measures such as free travel for woman passengers in DTC buses, slashing of utility bills and mohalla healthcare clinics.

BJP leader Vijay Bhagat said, “The development work in the National capital has been done by the BJP government. AAP’s claims that the same has been done by them is absolutely false. We still believe that Tuesday’s results will show BJP winning in more than 45 seats.”

As per reports floating in, Delhi’s voter turnout saw a sharp fall over the year 2015. According to the Election Commission of India (ECI) the polling that came to a close at 6 pm on February 9 was projected at 60.24 per cent, lower than 67.12 per cent in 2015.

Vinayak Aggarwal said, “Most people were in favour of AAP because of their development approach and the work they have done even though only in some parts of Delhi. Free electricity and water were the major factors that made a majority of voters to push button for the Kejriwal Government. On the other hand, Hindutva card by BJP has certainly played out and we could see a significant jump in the number of seats won by BJP. I believe that BJP might take over 10-20 seats held by AAP but Kejriwal will continue as Delhi CM.”

Though the range of victory margin and the number of seats varied, the exit polls were unanimous in projecting AAP winning the battle for Delhi with the BJP coming a distant second and the Congress party failing to make a mark once again.

Shiv Rajvanshi, a resident of Delhi said, “According to the exit polls, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) can win 9 to 10 seats out of 10 assembly seats in South Delhi, while Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) can win only one seat. At the same time, out of 10 assembly seats in East Delhi, 9 to 10 seats can be secured by AAP while the BJP is expected to win only one seat. As today’s voters are very smart and they judge the political parties by their work like, education, health, safety, employment, etc. AAP is the only party that has made a place in the hearts of the public.”

The India Today-Axis poll gave the number of seats in a range with AAP projected to do a repeat of its 2015 performance and win anywhere between 59 to 68 seats. The BJP’s range was shown as between 2 and 11, as per this poll. ABP-C Voter put AAP in the range of 51-65 seats, BJP in the range of 3-17 seats and Congress between 0-3 seats. While the Times Now-Ipsos exit poll predicted Arvind Kejriwal will retain his position with his party winning 47 seats against 23 for the BJP.

Also read: https://www.afternoonvoice.com/aam-aadmi-party-will-come-back-on-issues-of-bijli-paani-and-sadak.html

Shikhar Kumar said, “AAP has done a lot of development work in Delhi rather than teasing on religious things or communal bias. The AAP has done progressive politics also they have been working on things that matters everybody and not for a particular section of society. And I think that itself would be sufficient enough to get them in power.”

Arvind Kejriwal who is a former civil servant and activist came into electoral politics with an anti-corruption campaign in the year 2013 heralded by Anna Hazare. And due to the performance of the Aam Aadmi party in the national capital, he is all set to become CM for the third time. The people of Delhi are happy with Arvind Kejriwal and the party as they gave an extraordinary performance that made people happy with the AAP government.

AAP is a new party in politics. However, competing with big parties like Bharatiya Janata Party and Indian National Congress, it proved its mettle. During electioneering, the BJP abused Kejriwal with several adjectives like ‘he is a terrorist’, ‘he is a vandal’ etc. On the contrary, the Delhi CM had repeatedly said, “If you have liked the performance of my government, please vote for me.”

In today’s times, the AAP has earned lots of popularity and support from the people of Delhi. Despite the repeated hurdles by the Central Government and several other political parties, the AAP government has determinedly managed to deliver for the people of Delhi especially for the lower and middle-class. The party has done an amazing job in the field of water, electricity, education and health which have largely benefited the public.