Delhi election 2025: Polling for 70 assembly seats begins
What's the story
Voting for all 70 assembly seats in Delhi began at 7:00am on Wednesday.
This time, 1.56 crore voters will vote across 13,766 polling stations for the 699 candidates.
The voter demographic comprises 83.76 lakh men, 72.36 lakh women and 1,267 third-gender persons.
The results for this election will be announced on February 8.
Political contest
AAP, BJP, Congress vie for power in Delhi elections
The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is eyeing a hat-trick after winning the last two elections in 2015 and 2020.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress are also in the fray, making it a three-cornered contest.
The BJP has not been in power in Delhi for 27 years, while the Congress last ruled for three terms under former chief minister Sheila Dikshit from 1998 to 2013.
Election battle
Key candidates and campaign issues in Delhi elections
Key candidates in this election include Kejriwal, who is contesting from New Delhi against BJP's Parvesh Verma and Congress's Sandeep Dikshit.
In Kalkaji, AAP's Atishi faces Congress's Alka Lamba and BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri.
Other notable candidates include Manish Sisodia in Jangpura and Satyendar Jain in Shakur Basti.
The campaign concluded on February 3, featuring debates on issues such as education, healthcare, and law enforcement.
Election promises
Election manifestos promise freebies, voting hours announced
The election manifestos of all three major parties are replete with promises of various freebies like monthly grants for women and free healthcare for the elderly.
The AAP has also promised free bus rides and schemes for youth and auto-taxi drivers, among others, while the Congress has promised free healthcare, free electricity, and, free ration kit every month with rice, sugar, oil, wheat.
The BJP, meanwhile, has promised Scheduled Caste students stipend scheme, 33% job reservation for women, among others.
Election preparations
Robust security measures and accessibility initiatives for elections
Security measures for the election are tight, with over 30,000 police personnel and 220 paramilitary companies deployed across Delhi.
For sensitive booths, additional police forces will be deployed, and Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs) will be stationed to maintain law and order.
Special security arrangements include drone surveillance, while special provisions have been made for senior citizens and persons with disabilities, with 733 polling stations earmarked for their accessibility.