New Delhi: The battle for votes is back in Delhi after the Assembly elections in 2013 ended with a hung verdict.

As Delhi goes to the polls on Saturday for the 70-member Assembly, security, cheaper electricity and sanitation are the top three issues weighing on the minds of Delhi’s women voters who, for a change, are not shying away from making their demands public.

However, with the December 16, 2012, Nirbhaya gang-rape case still afresh in the memory of Delhiites, women’s safety is a prime issue in the capital. Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi has described it as the number one issue on her priority list.

Congress, which faced flak over the issue when it was in power, has now promised in its manifesto a better policing set-up to improve law and order in the city. Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Admi Party (AAP) intends to install CCTV cameras at every nook and corner of the city.

“All parties are listing women’s safety as a core issue. It remains to be seen if the commitment will be honoured this time around. Security while moving on city roads is a matter of prime concern, therefore, we need representatives who can assure the same to us,” 19-year-old student Akanksha Negi told Gulf News.

Delhi may be the capital of a rising economic powerhouse, but cleanliness and hygiene levels are poorer there than in even third-world capitals. Delhi is known as one of India’s filthiest cities and does no good to India’s image internationally.

“A new government needs to take cue from the ‘Swatch Bharat’ (Clean India) campaign and put in place a proper, working garbage collection and disposal system. A better drainage system would also equip Delhi with the infrastructure to tackle seasonal diseases like dengue and malaria,” says 38-year-old banker Swarna Bhaskar.

Sanitation is major issue for Sadar Bazar and Ballimaran as there are no washrooms for women in major markets.

“Cleanliness, electricity and women safety are the major issues here. With streets being extremely narrow in our area, it gets very difficult to cross the lanes. We do not have sufficient public toilets in the area. Even some of the schools are in very bad shape here,” 45-year-old primary schoolteacher Arunima Das from Ballimaran told Gulf News.

The capital also lacks a reliable and safe drinking water supply.

“All political parties have failed to seize the matter and have instead focused on supplying free or subsidised water. The AAP government had last year provided free 700 litres of water daily to every household, but did not launch any project to ensure water quality. This time, the party has promised to make drinking water ‘a right.’ Congress has promised to waive off pending water bills, but is silent on how to ensure a clean and reliable supply. BJP is silent on the issue,” says 47-year-old Maneka Roy from Vasant Vihar.

On the electricity front, supply is more or less consistent. However, tariffs are an issue.

“Electricity tariffs are too high. We get huge electricity bills every month. Apart from tariffs, the three main political parties have failed to focus on making the private distribution companies improve electricity supply infrastructure. The crumbling infrastructure leads to erratic, and sometimes massive, power cuts during summers when the demand is at its peak,” 39-year-old software engineer Rekha Sharma from Chhattarpur said.

A large part of Delhi’s population lives in illegal or unauthorised colonies and parties have always tried to woo this votebank with regularisation promises.

“Regularisation is aimed at ensuring development in illegal colonies, but that development never reaches our doors. We simply become a vote bank for political parties vying for numbers. It is sad. I would like the next government to resolve it once and for all,” housewife Veena Jain, 44, told Gulf News.