The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced the dates for polling and result declaration for the Delhi Assembly election. Voting will take place on February 5, and the results will be declared on February 8.
India’s Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Rajiv Kumar, shared this information at a press conference held on Tuesday at the central office in New Delhi.
The CEC stated that polling will be conducted in a single day—from morning to evening on February 5. Interested candidates can submit their nomination papers until January 17, with January 20 being the last date for withdrawing candidacy.
The total number of voters in Delhi and surrounding areas exceeds 15.5 million. More than 200,000 young voters will be participating for the first time in this election. CEC Rajiv Kumar highlighted that this is the highest number of young voters in Delhi’s assembly election history.
The commission has taken all necessary measures to ensure smooth and efficient polling, according to Rajiv Kumar. He also mentioned that voters aged 85 and above will be able to vote from home.
This Delhi Assembly election will primarily be a contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The BJP has long sought to capture this significant assembly seat, but its biggest challenge remains the AAP, which has been in power in Delhi since 2023.
Voting will be conducted via electronic voting machines (EVMs). While some Delhi politicians allege that EVMs allow for vote manipulation, the CEC dismissed these claims at the press conference, stating, “The EVMs we currently use are impossible to hack. These machines are designed to ensure free and fair elections. In the past, we’ve received a few allegations of election results being tampered with through hacking, but after thorough investigations, these claims were found to be baseless.”
Following the press conference, AAP’s central convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, called on all party leaders and workers to prepare for the election. In a message posted on social media platform X, he said, “No obstacle in the world is too big for your passion and deep loyalty to the party. You are our greatest strength. This election will be a contest between two groups—those who believe in action and those who consider politics as rhetoric, exaggeration, and disrespecting others. We will undoubtedly win this election.”
On the other hand, BJP President J.P. Nadda, in a separate post on X, stated, “Under the BJP-led central government, the progress achieved over the past 10 years is unprecedented. We are committed to the overall development of Delhi under the leadership and guidance of our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.