AAP, BJP go head-to-head; Cong. first list has 24 candidates
Nearly a year after Delhi was brought under President’s Rule, the Capital will vote on February 7 to elect 70 members to the Legislative Assembly. Chief Election Commissioner V.S. Sampath, on Monday announced the election dates which brings Model Code of Conduct into effect. “We expect a heated political campaign in Delhi,” said Mr. Sampath. “The previous elections saw Delhi going to polls along with other States. This time the focus of all political parties will be on the Delhi polls,” he said.
He said the EC has put in place mechanisms to conduct a free and fair election in Delhi and all measures to keep a check on the “abundance of money power” will be taken. While filing of nominations will begin on Wednesday, the last date for nominations is January 21.
The results will be announced on February 10.
The announcement of the schedule for the election, seen as a direct contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party and Aam Aadmi Party, saw both parties exude confidence. An AAP spokesperson said the elections should have been held last year and blamed the Central governments run by the Congress and then the BJP for the delay. Confident that the party would win , he said if that happened, Arvind Kejriwal would take an oath on February 14, the first anniversary of his resignation.
While the AAP has declared candidates for all seats and the Congress has come up with its first list of 24, the BJP is yet to deliberate on even a tentative list. “From the first day, BJP has been very confident of winning Assembly polls. We will go among the people with full energy and seek their support in the forthcoming polls,” a Delhi BJP spokesperson said.
Delhi elections schedule
| Last date for nomination | January 21, 2015 |
| Scrutiny of nomination | January 22, 2015 |
| Last date for withdrawing nomination | January 24, 2015 |
| Voting | February 7, 2015 |
| Counting | February 10, 2015 |
| Completion of poll process | February 15, 2015 |