"When I am alone in the booth and have to cast my vote, my heart skips a beat. My decision will have consequences, even if I go back to selling eggs for a living," said Rakesh, a resident of Uttam Nagar.
The harsh weather and the lack of interest in the MCD polls, may have deterred the urban voters in South MCD, but for the voters in the rural belt of South and South West Delhi, politics is a part of their daily lives and the MCD polls was their idea of taking out their pent up anger on the candidates who neglected them for five years. The polling booths in Uttam Nagar, Dichao Kalan, Najafgarh, Nawada, Chhawla, Bindapur and the other rural polling centres saw a charged up atmosphere. The average voter turnout hovered around 35 percent till 2 pm.
Voters did not shy away from bearing their political orientations out in the open. Many groups had also clashed in impromptu debates outside polling booths. Diatribes were traded, only to receive a flurry of counter attacks, stunning their opponents.
"The BJP Councillor does all the work and they claim the credit. All they are concerned about is their Rs 16,000 thali," said Krishan Gupta, a BJP supporter in Uttam Nagar, only to be stopped midway in his argument by Imtiaz. "You changed all your batsmen (BJP candidates), and now try to act clean. The previous BJP Councillor still has not come out. He grows fat sitting inside his air conditioned room," Imtiaz replied, to a guffaw of laughter.
For many voters in the rural belts, the candidates work, decided their vote rather than the party. This reporter found in polling booths of Uttam Nagar, Dichaon Kalan, Roshanpura and Najafgarh, 7 out of ten voters could recollect their candidate's name. In fact, 4 out of 10 voters could also recollect their previous work and also their criminal records.
"The candidates are not NRI's parachuted from aboard. They grew among us and have worked for our community. I will vote for Leena Asiwal from AAP as she has worked for us, the other candidates are also impressive," said Kishore, an Uttam Nagar ward voter.
Many of the rural voters had to travel in busses, tractors and a wide array of three wheelers to reach their polling booths. The core issues remain the same: Water, sanitation and health.