The incident occurred in east Delhi's Trilokpuri area early due to an electrical short circuiting in one of the shops, the officer said.
At least 16 fire tenders were pressed into service and the flames were doused in two hours, he added.
BJP's chief ministerial candidate, Harsh Vardhan, was full of optimism. "AAP and Congress have been claiming they have strong support, but the ground reality is different. Public sentiments are with BJP." Claiming that the public is fed up with Congress, he said, "Both AAP and Congress are not even in the running."
Congress is obviously disagreeing. "I am hopeful that people will vote for development and the work done by us in the past 15 years. I would not like to say how many seats we will win," said chief minister Sheila Dikshit, who is fighting for a record fourth term.
Delhi Congress chief J P Agrawal said: "Large numbers of voters prove that they wanted Congress to stay in power and serve the people of Delhi even better than we had been doing in the past." Long queues made it clear that "Congress would get the two-third majority".
Although both big parties have been busy dismissing AAP, its convener Arvind Kejriwal is confident that his party would do well. Before heading to a meditation centre right after casting his vote at the Hanuman Road booth in New Delhi constituency, he said: "I am very confident of the result. It will not be my victory but that of the people. People of Delhi will win and corruption will be defeated." Kejriwal is scheduled to return on Saturday, a day before the counting.
Senior AAP member Manish Sisodia is, however, disappointed with the turnout. "We were expecting a turnout of around 80% but many voters found their names missing from the list due to mismanagement by the election commission. In middle- and lower-class areas, the lines were so long that people left in frustration. The EC staff was not responsive. However, the turnout was quite an achievement for Delhi and there was a definite wave for AAP."
Vardhan's wife, Nutan, who had campaigned for him extensively, is sure that "he is the clear-cut winner in Krishna Nagar". On the chances of AAP and Congress, she said, "For Delhi, my husband is the next chief minister."
"People were fed up with the Congress government and BJP projected itself as a viable alternative. BJP's positive agenda helped it to expand its base among all sections of society," added Delhi BJP chief Vijay Goel.
Congress' Arvinder Singh is banking on his ties with the voters. "I have worked as one of them and that's why they vote for me,'' he said. "I have no competition," he said.
Shiromani Akali Dal's Shyam Sharma, who is contesting from Hari Nagar, is confident that Congress' 15-year rule would end this time.
The young voters appeared confident and had come prepared to exercise their franchise although some seemed in a dilemma. "The two issues that influenced my decision are women's safety and corruption. No one is doing anything about the law-and-order situation. Also, corruption needs to go. It's the reason behind the increasing prices," said Meenakshi, 18, a student of Aditi Mahavidyalaya.
Meenakshi, who came to vote with classmates Rachna and Poonam, added, "All students are very excited about voting. It's the first time we are getting the chance to choose our leader."
As another student, Shivani Tewari, 19, came out of the polling station with her finger inked, her parents clicked a photo. Most young voters talked about the need for change. Many confessed that they had voted differently from their parents.
At the Mangolpuri polling station, Manish Sindhu, 21 said he had voted for AAP because he supports the underdog. "Our family supports BJP but we are voting for AAP," he said, referring to himself and sister Sheetal, "We just don't want Congress winning."
But another young voter, Rozy, was undecided and ended up going with her parents' choice. "Honestly, none of the parties are different from each other. But I didn't want to vote for the ruling party," she said.
Also seen standing in the voting queue were young sons and daughters of politicians. Said Parminder Singh, son of Congress' Gandhi Nagar nominee Arvinder Singh Lovely, "It's the first time I am voting and yes, I voted for my father. It's not because he is family but because he has really worked for the constituency," said the 22-year-old budding lawyer.
Asked whether he planned to join the family legacy, Singh said he wasn't interested in entering politics. "I want to do something different, and make my own way," he added.
On the polling booth number 88 at Nagar Palika co-ed senior secondary and primary school in Aurangazeb Lane, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi was also seen interacting with the youth while waiting to cast his vote. Gandhi waited for around half-an-hour before making it to the EVM. "I felt good when he asked about me. What is my name? From where do I belong? Where do I live here and things like that," said Brijesh Kumar.
However, some first-time voters' excitement turned into disappointment when they found that their names were missing from the voters' list. "I was very keen on voting," said Ritika,19, "But my name's not on the list. I wanted to contribute to AAP's victory. My mother, who did not vote in the previous two elections, has come out this year to vote for them."
The Dalai Lama, who was here on the 15th anniversary of Apollo hospital's liver transplant programme, expressed happiness for being a part of the event.
"I am glad to be a part of this gathering, celebrating the joy of overcoming ailments and encouraging one and all to be part of promoting healthy living," he said, according to a statement released by the hospital. The spiritual leader added that compassion is an understanding of the emotional state of another. "It is a desire to alleviate or reduce the suffering of another or to show kindness to those who suffer," he said.
Chairman of Apollo Hospitals Group, Dr Prathap C Reddy, thanked the spiritual leader for his presence. "The Dalai Lama's enlightened words on compassion have left an indelible mark on me," Reddy said. Reddy said every year, Apollo Hospitals will sponsor and help five children of Tibetan origin with cardiac ailments.
The incident occurred in east Delhi's Trilokpuri area early due to an electrical short circuiting in one of the shops, the officer said.
At least 16 fire tenders were pressed into service and the flames were doused in two hours, he added.
In Chhattisgarh, the BJP and the Congress seem to be running neck and neck with the BJP expected to get 44 seats and its main rival, the Congress, expected to get 41 seats.
Earlier, Delhi recoreded a historic voter turnout of 66 per cent with around 1.2 crore voters exercised their franchise on Wednesday.
Delhi's chief electoral officer Vijay Dev had said, "It has been a good turnout all over Delhi. We are hoping the final percentage of voting will be between 70 and 75 per cent,"
"The polling has so far been peaceful and there were no reports of any untoward incident," Election Commission officials said.
Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, chief minister Sheila Dikshit, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, BJP's chief ministerial candidate Harsh Vardhan were among the early voters.
In 2008 assembly polls, the overall voting percentage was 57.58 per cent.
"In the Delhi assembly election 2013, the turnout till 11 am is around 17 percent," the statement said, according to IANS.
Vice President Hamid Ansari, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal, BJP chief ministerial candidate Harsh Vardhan, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi were among the early voters.
Polling for the 70-member Delhi assembly elections began on Wednesday morning where Congress is engaged in an electoral battle with BJP, while new entrant in the fray Aam Admi Party's possible impact is being watched keenly.
The voting began at 8am at over 11,000 polling stations out of which 630 have been identified as critical and hyper critical, PTI reported.
A total of 1.19 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise, out of which 66.11 lakh are men and 53.20 lakh are women. The number of first time voters is 4.05 lakh.
A total of 810 candidates are in the fray in the three-cornered contest between Congress, BJP and AAP.
While BJP has fielded candidates in 66 constituencies Congress and AAP are contesting from all 70 seats.
BSP, which was the third largest party in last assembly election, has fielded candidates at 69 seats, NCP in nine and Samajwadi Party at 27 seats. A total of 224 independents are also in the fray.
A total of 32,801 personnel of Delhi Police and 107 companies of central paramilitary forces have been deployed to ensure peaceful elections.
In a bid to boost voter turnout, nine 'model' polling stations with spruced-up infrastructure have been set up for the first time.
The entry of Arvind Kejriwal's AAP has changed the dimension of the elections and it will be interesting to see whether the newbie will just be a "spoiler" or win some seats as predicted by opinion polls, riding on its anti-corruption plank.
The elections in Delhi and four other states are being seen as the semi-final for the Lok Sabha polls to be held next year.
The stakes in this election are high for three-time chief minister Sheila Dikshit, who mainly highlighted her achievements and development agenda during the campaigning, while BJP's chief ministerial candidate Harsh Vardhan promised to cut power tariff by 30 per cent and slash vegetable prices within 30 days of coming to power.
The BJP has also promised to give 12 subsidised LPG cylinders in a year to each household instead of current nine, besides ensuring full statehood. It has also promised to set up a dedicated women security force to ensure safety of women.
In its manifesto, Congress has promised to set up a Single Command System to address the problems of multiplicity of authorities and a common economic zone for the entire National Capital Region to minimise load on Delhi's infrastructure. It has also promised to construct double-decker flyovers to ease traffic congestion.
The AAP said it will pass the Jan Lokpal Bill within 15 days of coming to power, besides promising to cut power tariff by 50 per cent. It said 700 litres of water per day will be given free to each household.
(With inputs from IANS and PTI)
Ansari reached New Delhi constituency's polling booth no 8586 at Nirman Bhavan at around 8.10am.
He was among the first few citizens to vote at the booth, whereas other high-profile voters like Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit will also cast their ballot.
Dikshit, Kejriwal and city BJP chief Vijendra Gupta are among candidates in fray from the New Delhi constituency.
Dev exercised his franchise at 8am at polling booth no 47 at Hanuman Road in the constituency. He was the first voter at the booth.
The chief electoral officer hoped that people will vote in large number to create a new record.
"I am confident that people of Delhi will create a new record of polling. There has been huge enthusiasm among the people about this election," he said.
In 2008 assembly polls, the overall voting percentage was 57.58 per cent.
Kejriwal voted at the same booth at around 8:15am. "People of Delhi will win and corruption will be defeated in the election," he told reporters.
"His conduct is so deplorable that even now he wishes to destroy the remaining life of the respondent (ex-wife) who is now leading a happily married life with her husband.
"The objection raised by him about the alleged illegality of the other marriage that the respondent entered into despite an appeal period available to him is without any force in view of the admission made by him in the amicable settlement," Justice Manmohan Singh said while dismissing his plea.
The court said the marriage between the man and his ex-wife had been annulled on the date they amicably decided to part ways and a "mere formality" to get the decree for annulment of marriage was left.
It condoned the "omission" of the woman to re-marry before the period of appeal, available to her first husband, expired.
"As a matter of fact, on the date of execution of amicable settlement, the marriage had become annulled and mere formalities had remained to obtain a decree on the basis of the said settlement.
"In view of the peculiar facts and circumstances of the present case and in the interest of justice of saving the second marriage of the respondent, this court is inclined to condone the omission committed by the respondent...," it said.
The court noted the man had admitted the annulment of marriage in a criminal proceeding initiated against him by his the then wife in order to obtain bail and now he can't change his stand.
"This court is of the considered view that once he has made admission of his guilt in the amicable settlement and has also taken benefit of the same in criminal proceedings, all his subsequent protests is an afterthought," it said.
The couple's marriage was annulled by an amicable settlement after the woman had lodged an FIR alleging that she was not in her senses when they had got married as she had been drugged by the man and his sister.
Earlier, Delhi recoreded a historic voter turnout of 66 per cent with around 1.2 crore voters exercised their franchise on Wednesday.
Delhi's chief electoral officer Vijay Dev had said, "It has been a good turnout all over Delhi. We are hoping the final percentage of voting will be between 70 and 75 per cent,"
"The polling has so far been peaceful and there were no reports of any untoward incident," Election Commission officials said.
Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, chief minister Sheila Dikshit, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, BJP's chief ministerial candidate Harsh Vardhan were among the early voters.
In 2008 assembly polls, the overall voting percentage was 57.58 per cent.
