Fellow first-time voter Jagtar Singh said: “Even if I don’t want to discuss or hear stories about the riots, my parents force me to. Whenever we discuss the riots at home, I can see the anger on their faces. I can understand what they must have gone through.” Jaspinder Singh, 22, said, “I am happy with development work in our area but I cannot overlook the past. I fear what happened with Sikhs in the past can happen again in future,” said . Jaspinder’s mother, Jasmeet Kaur, wants her son to know the suffering she and her family had undergone.

“The sufferings of the 1984 riots will live with us all our lives. We cannot forget and will never let the memories fade from the minds of the coming generations,” she adds.

The youth at the rehabilitation colony is clear about its decision, but the elders do not want to comment.

“All that is history now. We have had a very long wait. Now we want development in the area. We want water and power. I want to vote for somebody who can now provide us with the basic facilities,” said Harbhajan Singh.

Jangpura is another seat where Akalis are in the fray. In the last Assembly election, Congress candidate Tarvinder Singh Marwah won by a clear majority here. Following delimitation, the demographics of the constituency has changed significantly.

With the Manjinder Singh Sirsa, an Akali contesting on BJP ticket, joining the battle, it promises to be a close contest. Voters in this diverse constituency, stretching from Daryaganj to Sarai Kale Khan, too have decided to ensure the MLA’s seat is not given away too easily.

Following a significant jump from the turnout of 51.16 per cent in the last election, Jungpura recorded a turnout of 59.34 per cent in today’s election.

As young and old trooped in to vote, it was difficult to say which way the results would go.

Some like 86-year-old D R Dodhi, voted for the Congress last time, but was now switching to the BJP. “Marwah did not keep his promises and I think Manjinder Singh Sirsa is the better among the two,” he said. There were others like auto-driver, Subhash Chandra, a traditional Congress voter, “I have voted for Marwah each of the two times he stood from here and am voting for him today as well,” he said.