New Delhi: Voting for the high-stakes single-phase Assembly elections to all the 70 seats in Delhi will begin at 7 am on Wednesday amidst tight security arrangements. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led by former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is making a strong bid for a third consecutive mandate while the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) and the Congress party are making all-out efforts to make a comeback in the national capital.
A total of 1,56,14,000 voters will exercise their franchise in this election. They will decide the fate of as many as 699 candidates who are in the fray in the 70 seats. According to the data released by the Election Commission, there are 83,76,173 male voters in Delhi, 72,36,560 female and 1,267 third-gender voters. This time, the sex ratio has been recorded as 864 and the EP ratio (elector to population ratio) as 71.86, which clearly shows that the participation of women will also be strong.
Young Voters: This time, a good participation of youth and senior citizens is being seen in the voters list of Delhi. About 2,39,905 young voters (18-19 years) will vote for the first time, which shows the increasing interest of youth in the elections. At the same time, 1,09,368 senior citizens above 85 years of age and 783 voters above 100 years of age will also participate in this great festival of democracy. Apart from this, 79,885 Divyang voters and 12,736 service voters are also included in the list.
13,766 polling stations: This time a total of 13,766 polling stations have been set up in Delhi, where voters will be able to exercise their franchise. 2,696 polling stations have been set up all over Delhi, so that the voting process can be conducted smoothly. A Queue Management System (QMS) app is introduced to enable the voters to check crowd levels in real-time.
There are nearly 3,000 polling booths identified as sensitive. To ensure a smooth poll, as many as 220 companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed along with 35,626 Delhi Police personnel, and 19,000 home guards. Already, 6,980 out of 7,553 eligible voters under the home voting facility have cast their votes.
Counting: Counting will be held on February 8. Of the 70 seats, 12 Assembly seats are reserved for the SCs.
During the election campaign, the AAP, which has been ruling Delhi since 2015, has traded heated allegations with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). On the other hand, the Congress has made an unsparing attack on Kejriwal.
In the 2020 election, the AAP secured a landslide victory, winning 62 out of the total 70 seats. Kejriwal led the election campaign on behalf of AAP while Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah took part in electioneering for the BJP candidates. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi had also conducted a spirited election campaign.
Meanwhile, Delhi's Chief Electoral Officer R. Alice Vaz met President Draupadi Murmu on Tuesday and handed over her voter information slip for the Delhi elections. The CEO was accompanied by District Electoral Officer (New Delhi) Sunny Kumar Singh and Booth Level Officer Suresh Giri. They informed the President about the voter awareness and facilitation efforts of the Election Commission.
As the term of the Delhi Assembly ended on February 23, it is mandatory to hold the elections before that day to form a fresh House.
Delhi Assembly Election 2025:
- Notification - Jan. 10
- Last day for nominations - Jan. 17
- Scrutiny of nominations - Jan. 18
- Withdrawal of nominations - Jan. 20
- Date of poll - Feb. 5
- Date of counting - Feb. 8
Identification documents:
According to the information received from the Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi, voter slips have been delivered to the homes of most voters before the voting of the assembly elections. If the voter slip has not reached the home of any voter, then they can check their names in the voter list through the Voter Helpline App and the web portal of the CEO Office of Delhi. Even if they do not have voter ID cards, they can vote with any of these following 12 documents if their names are there on the voters' list.
- Identification Card
- Aadhar card
- Passport
- Passbook with photo issued by bank and post office
- Driving License
- PAN card
- MNREGA Card
- Special Disability Identification Card issued by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
- Smart card issued by the Registrar General of India
- Health Insurance Smart Card issued by the Ministry of Labor
- Official Identification Card issued by MLA and MP
- Identity cards with photos issued to employees by Central Government, State Government and Public Sector Undertakings
