Seventy Assembly seats are up for changes in the crucial Delhi election. Voting has been done by Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Union Ministers S Jaishankar and Hardeep Singh Puri, and President Droupadi Murmu. The incumbent party wants to win a third consecutive term in the triangular race between the AAP, BJP, and Congress. The saffron party wants to regain power after 25 years, while the grand old party wants to make a comeback. Amanatullah Khan of the AAP has been charged for violating the poll code on election eve.
AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal is running from the New Delhi seat against Congressman Sandeep Dikshit, the son of former chief minister Sheila Dikshit, and former BJP MP Parvesh Verma. Delhi Chief Minister Atishi opposes Congressman Alka Lamba and Ramesh Bidhuri, the head of the BJP’s Delhi unit. Jangpura, a seat the AAP has won twice in a row, is the scene of another close race. There, Manish Sisodia of the AAP is running against Tarvinder Singh Marwah of the BJP and Farhad Suri of the Congress.
The Delhi Assembly votes saw intense campaigning, with AAP, BJP, and Congress leaders squabbling over issues ranging from social programs, the development model of government, Yamuna’s water quality, to the “Sheesh Mahal” dispute. The pre-election debate was characterized by aggressive name-calling and AI-generated spoofs, but it also focused on governance, law and order, women’s welfare, and freebies.
Voter participation in Delhi’s 70 Assembly constituencies was 8.1% as of 9 a.m. At 10.70%, Northeast Delhi had the greatest voter participation, while Central Delhi had the lowest at 6.67%.
