New Delhi, Aug 2 (PTI): Around 41 per cent of nearly 90,000 registered street vendors voted in elections to constitute 23 town vending committees (TVCs) across Delhi on Sunday.
While the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) said no law-and-order incident was reported during polling, the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) alleged irregularities in at least two zones, including a charge that a polling room was closed by civic officials during voting. It has demanded independent inquiries into the incidents.
Polling was held across its 12 zones under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, and the Delhi Street Vendors Rules, 2017, according to a statement by the MCD.
The polling, which began at 8 am, was conducted under the supervision of the Central Licensing Department, zonal deputy commissioners and returning officers, the statement read.
Officials said that around 41 per cent voter turnout was recorded, with 15 strong rooms and 17 counting centres set up for the exercise. Counting of votes will begin at 8 am on August 4.
Street vendor federation NASVI claimed the election process in the Civil Lines zone was cancelled following complaints of large-scale irregularities that, it alleged, compromised the credibility and fairness of the election.
The vendors’ body alleged the process had been manipulated in a manner that left only one candidate in the fray. It said it had earlier submitted a representation to the MCD Commissioner, seeking cancellation of the election process in the zone and an independent inquiry into the complaints.
NASVI also alleged irregularities in the Green Park TVC area, claiming polling officials and MCD staff locked the polling room during voting. The organisation said the alleged incident was recorded on video and witnessed by several people present at the polling station.
It further claimed that a large number of vendors were forced to wait outside the polling station in the heat for an extended period and urged authorities to conduct a fair inquiry and take action if violations were established.
The organisation also flagged logistical issues from several polling stations, alleging that vendors holding valid Certificates of Vending (CoVs) could not cast their votes because their names were missing from the electoral rolls.
No immediate response by the civic body to the claims made by the vendors’ body was available. PTI MSJ SKY SKY
(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)
