 "Delhi Assembly election dates announced: Voting on Feb 5, results on Feb 8")
Delhi Assembly Elections 2025: The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced that the 9th Delhi Assembly Elections will be held on February 5 in a single phase for all its 70 constituencies. The vote counting will be held on February 8.
The ECI further announced that the date of issuance of the Gazette notification will be January 10. The last date for nominations will be January 17, while January 18 will be the last date for scrutiny of nominations. The last date for withdrawal of candidature will be January 20. The announcement was made during a press conference on Tuesday. With the ECI’s announcement of the election schedule, the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is now in effect and will remain so until the conclusion of the polls. MCC, issued by the Election Commission, regulates the behavior of political parties and candidates during elections. It covers meetings, processions, manifestos, polling, and overall conduct to ensure free and fair elections.
The last Delhi Assembly Elections were held on February 8, 2020, in a single phase. The voter turnout was recorded at 62.82 per cent, marking a decline of 4.65 percentage points from the 2015 elections.
The ongoing term of the Delhi government is set to end on February 23, 2025. The newly elected government will assume office thereafter.
Major political parties in the fray
This election will witness a contest among three major political parties: the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Congress.
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Currently, the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP holds power in the Union Territory with 62 out of 70 Assembly seats. The Opposition, BJP, holds the remaining eight seats, while Congress failed to secure any seats in the 2020 elections.
AAP is contesting all 70 Assembly seats, while the BJP has announced the names of 29 candidates so far. Congress has vowed to contest all seats without alliances and has fielded more than 26 candidates to date.
Key battles in Delhi Elections 2025
The high-stakes Assembly election will feature a fierce contest between former MP Parvesh Verma, son of the late Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, and AAP leader and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Similarly, former MP Ramesh Bidhuri will face off against Chief Minister Atishi from Kalkaji.
The BJP has also nominated its national office-bearers Dushyant Kumar Gautam and Ashish Sood to contest from Karol Bagh and Janakpuri, respectively. Meanwhile, former Delhi ministers Arvinder Singh Lovely and Kailash Gahlot have been fielded from Gandhi Nagar and Bijwasan. Additionally, former Delhi BJP president Satish Upadhyay is contesting from Malviya Nagar.