The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has announced special early morning operations on both polling and counting days for the upcoming Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) bye-elections. The decision has been taken to ensure polling staff reach their designated locations on time across 12 wards.
The announcement was made through an official post on X by DMRC on Friday, where the corporation highlighted extended operational hours and additional adjustments for November 30 (on the polling day) and December 3 (on the counting day).
Early start on polling date
According to DMRC, metro operations will commence at 4:00 AM on Sunday, November 30, with trains running at 30-minute intervals till 6:00 AM, after which the regular Sunday schedule will take over. To ensure better support to the movement of personnel returning from poll duties, DMRC has also extended the last train from all terminal stations to 11:30 pm, extending it from the usual 11:00 PM closing time.
Sharing an update on X, DMRC stated that the additional arrangements were specifically designed to “ensure smooth and timely movement of polling personnel and staff during the MCD Bye-Elections in 12 wards.”
Counting day services will also commence from 4 AM
The same service pattern is scheduled to be repeated on Wednesday, December 3, the day votes will be counted. DMRC mentioned that the trains will again start running from 4:00 am and will maintain a 30-minute frequency till 6:00 am, before switching to the regular weekday timetable for the rest of the day.
These arrangements come as part of a broader set of administrative steps being taken ahead of the bye-elections.
Earlier this week, the State Election Commissioner (SEC), Vijay Dev, announced a 48-hour silence period from 5:30 PM on November 28 to 5:30 PM on November 30. The publication or broadcast of election-related materials, including opinion and exit polls, across all media platforms has also been prohibited.
As per a report by ANI, a total of 132 nominations were filed for the 12 wards going to the polls. Out of which 59 are male, and 74 are female candidates in the race. Women candidates are contesting from areas like Shalimar Bagh-B, Greater Kailash, Dwarka-B, Ashok Vihar and Dichaon Kalan. Polling is scheduled to take place on November 30, followed by counting on December 3.