The Election Commission on Monday announced the dates for Assembly elections in Delhi. The capital will vote in a single phase on February 8; counting of votes will be done on February 11.
Elaborating on preparations for the polls, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said over 90,000 officials will be deployed for the conduct of the Delhi elections. Approximately 13,750 polling booths will be functional. As a welfare measure, the Election Commission will provide ramps to assist voters who have impaired mobility and also arrange pick-up and drop facility for senior citizens. The last date for filing of nominations is January 21.
In the 2015 Assembly elections, the Aam Aadmi Party, under Arvind Kejriwal, stormed to power, winning 67 of the 70 seats in the legislature, garnering a vote share of 54 per cent. The BJP won the remaining three seats and the Congress, which had ruled Delhi for three straight terms from 1998 to 2013, drew a blank.
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The upcoming Assembly elections in Delhi are expected to be a contest between Kejriwal and the BJP. Kejriwal has touted his government's success in improving the state of healthcare and public schools and also delivery of basic welfare services. Kejriwal will be eyeing a third straight tenure as Delhi chief minister. His first term as chief minister lasted just 49 days from December 2013 to February 2014 as head of an AAP government, supported by the Congress.
The BJP is not projecting a chief ministerial face and instead going to polls under the banner of the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The BJP had won all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi in both the 2014 and 2019 Parliamentary polls.
A total of 1.46 crore voters can exercise their franchise in the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections, according to the final electoral list for Delhi published on Monday. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Delhi Ranbir Singh said the final publication of voters list shows there are total 1,46,92,136 voters in Delhi including 80.55 lakh males and 66.35 lakh females.
