Voting in the high-stakes Delhi Assembly elections commenced on Wednesday, with around 19.95 per cent voter turnout recorded till 11 am across the 70 constituencies.

Voters are casting their ballots at 13,766 stations to decide the fate of 699 candidates. Around 1.56 crore voters are eligible to vote in the National Capital Territory (NCT).

While the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is seeking a third straight term, banking on its governance record and welfare schemes, the BJP and Congress are looking for a change.

Polling started at 7 am and will conclude at 6 pm. According to Election Commission data, 8.10 per cent of voters had cast their votes by 9 am.

Important candidates in the Assembly elections include AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, who is fighting from the New Delhi constituency against former BJP MP Parvesh Verma and Congress’s Sandeep Dikshit, who is the son of former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

Delhi Chief Minister Atishi is contesting against BJP’s Delhi unit chief Ramesh Bidhuri and Congress’s Alka Lamba. Another tight contest is in Jangpura, where AAP’s Manish Sisodia has been fielded against BJP’s Tarvinder Singh Marwah and Congress’s Farhad Suri.

Published on February 5, 2025