Delhi decides today: High-stakes battle underway as Delhiites vote across 70 Assembly constituencies

New Delhi: Polling is underway across all 70 Assembly constituencies in Delhi on Wednesday amid tight security arrangements. Voting began at 7 am and will conclude at 6 pm, with officials ensuring a smooth and peaceful election process.

The Election Commission has put in place extensive security measures, deploying 220 paramilitary force companies, 35,626 Delhi Police personnel, and 19,000 Home Guards.

Around 3,000 polling booths have been identified as sensitive, prompting additional security reinforcements, including drone surveillance.

Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs) have also been stationed in vulnerable areas to handle any law-and-order situation.

The 70 constituencies, spread across various districts of the capital, reflect the diverse demographics of the city. Among them, 12 seats are reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates.

The results, to be declared on February 8, will decide whether the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) maintains its dominance, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stages a comeback, or the Congress regains lost ground.

This election features several high-profile candidates that include the AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, who is contesting from New Delhi and Chief Minister Atishi who is fighting from Kalkaji.

Former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia is fighting from Jangpura, Satyendra Jain from Shakur Basti, Awadh Ojha from Patparganj, Somnath Bharti from Malviya Nagar and Amanatullah Khan who is contesting from Okhla are also some of the key AAP candidates.

The Congress has fielded Alka Lamba from Kalkaji and Sandeep Dikshit from New Delhi, aiming to reclaim its presence in the national Capital.

Meanwhile, the BJP has placed its bets on Parvesh Verma (New Delhi), Ramesh Bidhuri (Kalkaji), Arvinder Singh Lovely (Gandhi Nagar), Kapil Mishra (Karawal Nagar) and Kailash Gahlot (Bijwasan).

The AAP’s campaign had been spearheaded by Kejriwal, CM Atishi, Manish Sisodia, Saurabh Bharadwaj etc, while the BJP relied on top leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP chief J.P. Nadda.

The Congress’ campaign had been led by Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and the Congress’ Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi as the party attempts at a revival in the state.

The polls are being fought on key issues like the ‘Sheesh Mahal’ controversy, pollution, concerns over Yamuna water quality, quality of roads, and allegations of voter list tampering plus rising crime and gang wars in Delhi.

In the last Assembly elections in 2020, the AAP secured a landslide victory, winning 62 out of 70 seats, while the BJP bagged only eight.

The Congress, which once dominated Delhi politics for 15 years, failed to win even a single seat for the second consecutive term.

IANS