Delhi will vote on February 8, results on February 11
A short while ago, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora announced dates for Delhi Assembly polls. Delhi, which has 70 constituencies, will vote in one phase on February 8, 2020. The results will be announced on February 11, 2020. The last date to file the nomination is January 21. With the announcement, the model code of conduct comes into effect immediately. Here are more details.
Government can't announce Delhi-specific schemes in Union Budget
Apart from disclosing dates for the polls, Arora also underlined that no Delhi-specific schemes will be announced in the Union Budget 2020, that will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1. Further, the government was also prohibited from mentioning its achievements in Delhi in the speech. To note, nearly 1.46 crore voters will exercise their rights this time.
If Delhi's situation doesn't improve, polls could be deferred
Now, the dates' announcement comes at a time when Delhi is already boiling owing to protests against CAA and the latest JNU incident. But Arora feels that by the time polls are held, the situation will become normal. However, if an extraordinary situation arises, polls can be deferred, he underlined. "Constitution empowers ECI to take the call," the top election commissioner told press.
After losing many states, BJP hopes to win Delhi
Delhi, the first state to go into polls in 2020, is crucial for BJP, considering it got a series of setbacks recently. BJP somehow formed a government in Haryana, failed to do so in Maharashtra, and faced a humiliating defeat in Jharkhand, at the hands of an alliance of JMM, Congress, and JD(U). It is pretty obvious that BJP is eyeing Delhi now.
With Congress' absence, the battle is between BJP and AAP
It is important to note that BJP won all seven Lok Sabha seats in May 2019, but trends have shown state elections don't always follow the same trajectory. Also, with Congress out of the larger picture, BJP's sole competitor is AAP. In 2015, AAP, riding on its anti-corruption drive, won 67 seats. Congress didn't even open its account and BJP won three.
Ache beet 5 saal: AAP is relying on its performance
AAP, which launched its campaign last month, is banking on its performance and local issues to win polls. Interestingly, poll strategist Prashant Kishor, who is a member of BJP ally JD(U), has been roped in by AAP for the election. Kishor, credited for slogan Chai pe charcha for the then-Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, coined Ache beete 5 saal, lage raho Kejriwal for AAP.
BJP intends to keep national issues in focus
On the other hand, BJP has clarified it won't leave national issues. Yesterday, party president Amit Shah addressed booth workers and asked them to take PM Modi's vision to every door. In his long address, Shah spoke about Ayodhya's Ram Mandir, Article 370 (which was revoked last year), and controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). He blamed Congress and AAP for siding with "rioters".
BJP lacks CM-name, AAP thinks saffron party has seven!
Now, Shah spoke for long but he didn't reveal a CM candidate. While there is uncertainty over who would be the CM if BJP wins, Kejriwal took a swipe, saying BJP has seven CM aspirants. According to AAP, Manoj Tiwari, Gautam Gambhir, Vijay Goel, Hardeep Singh Puri, Harsh Vardhan, Vijender Gupta, and Parvesh Sahib Singh, want to sit in the CM office.
