Delhi election: What women voters want

Voters in Delhi will elect a state assembly on Saturday, in what analysts have billed as the first chance for Indians to judge the national government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mr Modi's BJP is fielding plain-speaking former policewoman Kiran Bedi as its candidate for chief minister. She faces a real challenge from local anti-corruption party AAP's Arvind Kejriwal, who is hot favourite to win, according to polls.

Ever since the gang rape and murder of a student in December 2012, public safety has been one of the most critical issues for the city and its women.

BBC Hindi asked women across Delhi to name the one issue that could sway their vote in Saturday's election.

It was not a representative poll, simply a flavour of what some women on the streets want from their politicians.

Tap here to see what issues they chose

INTERACTIVE

Monica

Romalisa

Anita

Sanya

Santosh

Shanu

Anita

Srishti

Vibhuti

Lata

Damini

Ram Bai

Kajal

Naina

Anant

Flora

Lata

Babita

Shikha

Varsha

  • Monica Aggrawal

    ×

    Employment is the major issue for Monica: 'If you have job in hand, you can afford so many things in life. Employment is the basic need.'

  • Romalisa

    ×

    Romalisa identified access to water as the single most important issue for the city. She also said: 'I want Delhi to be corruption-free. Also women’s security is a problem.'

  • Anita Sharma

    ×

    A shopkeeper in central Delhi, Anita says basics such as electricity will decide her vote but she has other needs too: 'I want inflation to be curbed. We live in rented houses. I wish we could have our own house.'

  • Sanya Manohac

    ×

    For Sanya, safety was the most important issue and would direct her vote.

  • Santosh Narayan

    ×

    This shopkeeper wants clean water in her area: 'I am fed up of electricity and water problems. Inflation is a big problem too. But my biggest issue is water.'

  • Shanu Wadhawa

    ×

    Shanu identified herself as a homemaker and said that law and order was her first concern. 'The second issue is cleanliness, the third is population control. Migration is also an important issue and should be controlled.'

  • Anita Keskar

    ×

    A teacher, Anita identified stability as the main issue deciding her vote.

  • Srishti

    ×

    As a lawyer, the legal system was Srishti's primary concern. 'The law and the legal system should be strong and fair for all. Otherwise criminals will never learn a lesson.'

  • Vibhuti Kumar

    ×

    Safety was the biggest issue for psychology student Vibhuti.

  • Lata

    ×

    A reliable electricity supply is a big problem in Lata's area, but she added that inflation also affected her.

  • Damini Bajaj

    ×

    Safety was Damini's primary concern.

  • Ram Bai

    ×

    A fruit seller on the streets, Ram Bai is desperate to make a living. Employment and jobs is her choice for the most important issue in these polls. She says she wants a permanent licence from the local council so she can sell fruits freely.

  • Kajal

    ×

    Student, Kajal, said electricity, water and inflation were all concerns: 'I want to say that we face shortages of electricity and water. Women’s safety is an issue too. They face so many atrocities. There should be strict laws to deal with this.'

  • Naina Sharma

    ×

    Safety. That is the one issue that will decide Naina's vote.

  • Anant Khurana

    ×

    A teacher, Anant was most concerned about safety.

  • Flora

    ×

    A student, Flora says she wants 'environmental concerns' to be addressed and for people to have jobs.

  • Lata Nayyar and Sudesh Kumari

    ×

    The state of the roads and traffic in Delhi was their biggest worry. Lata said: 'We can make any number of underpasses, flyovers or broaden the roads, if the quality of roads is not good and traffic management is not efficient, we will always face traffic problems and even accidents.'

  • Babita

    ×

    Inflation is the crucial factor for Babita: 'The only thing we want is to be able to run our household properly, which we can’t because of the rise in prices and no rise in income to match inflation.'

  • Shikha

    ×

    Lawyer, Shikha, identified cleanliness (and not just campaigns about cleanliness) as the main issue. Shikha said: 'There is no real change. Cleanliness as a habit has to be taught as a way of life from early on. Heavy fines should be imposed who don’t obey the rules.'

  • Varsha Khurana

    ×

    Ms Khurana, who described herself as a housewife, says: 'Unless the system is corruption free, we will never develop.'

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