Delhi Elections : Voting for the Delhi Assembly elections is taking place today, February 5, in a single phase. A total of 70 seats are up for grabs, with five INDIA bloc parties competing against each other. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress, both key players in the alliance during the Lok Sabha elections, are now contesting against each other on all 70 seats. Voters are eager to see which party will secure the majority in this high-stakes battle for Delhi’s governance.
At the same time, Communist Party of India (CPI) has fielded its candidates on 6 seats, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) and Communist Party of India-Marxist Leninist (CPI-ML) have fielded their candidates on 2 seats each.
BJP has fielded candidates on 68 seats. Two seats have been given to alliance parties. In this, Janata Dal-United (JDU) has fielded candidates from Burari and Lok Janshakti Party- Ram Vilas (LJP-R) has fielded candidates from Deoli seat.
In Maharashtra, BJP’s ally Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is contesting on 30 seats. Shiv Sena chief and Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde has supported BJP on all seats.
Apart from this, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is contesting on 70 seats and Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is contesting on 12 seats. The election results will be declared on February 8.
Delhi Elections: 19% candidates are tainted, 81 have serious cases like murder and rape registered against them
According to the Election Commission, a total of 699 candidates from various parties, including independents, are in the fray. The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has prepared a report after examining the affidavits of all these candidates.
According to this, about 19% i.e. 132 candidates have a criminal background. Out of these, 81 have serious cases registered against them like murder, kidnapping, rape. 13 candidates are accused of crimes against women.
Delhi Elections: 5 candidates have assets of more than ₹100 crore, only 96 out of 699 are women
According to ADR, 5 candidates have assets worth Rs 100 crore or more. Out of these, 3 are from BJP while one each is from Congress and AAP. The average assets of BJP candidates is around Rs 22.90 crore. Whereas, three candidates have declared their assets as zero.
About 28% or 196 candidates have declared their age to be between 25 and 40 years. 106 (15%) are between 61 and 80 years of age, while three are above 80 years of age. Of all the 699 candidates, 96 are women, which is about 14%.
Talking about the educational qualification of the candidates, 46% have declared themselves to be between 5th to 12th. 18 candidates have declared themselves as diploma holders, 6 as literate and 29 as illiterate.
Delhi Elections: 18% swing voters are kingmakers in Delhi
In the Lok Sabha elections, AAP and Congress contested together on 7 seats of Delhi. AAP contested on 4 and Congress on 3 Lok Sabha seats, but BJP won all the 7 seats.
BJP got 54.7% votes while INDIA Block got 43.3% votes. The margin of victory and defeat was 1.35 lakh on an average across all seats. BJP was ahead in 52 assembly seats.
Delhi elections are held about 9 months after the Lok Sabha elections but in such a short time, a big change is seen in the voting trends. According to the data of the last two Lok Sabha (2014 and 2019) and two assembly elections (2015 and 2020), about 18% swing voters have been deciding the power in Delhi.
A swing voter or floating voter is a voter who is not associated with any party. He votes for different parties in every election based on his advantages and disadvantages.
In 2014 also, BJP had won all the 7 Lok Sabha seats. During this time, BJP was ahead in 60 out of 70 assembly seats. Whereas in the 2015 assembly elections, BJP could win only 3 seats and AAP captured 67 seats.
Similarly, in 2019, BJP won all seven Lok Sabha seats and was ahead in 65 assembly seats. In the 2020 assembly elections, AAP won 62 seats and BJP won 8 seats.
Delhi Elections: A Look at the 5 Hot Seats
1. New Delhi
- A key battleground as AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal contests against the sons of two former Delhi CMs.
- BJP candidate: Pravesh Verma, son of former CM Sahib Singh Verma.
- Congress candidate: Sandeep Dixit, son of three-time CM Sheila Dixit.
- The seat was earlier known as Goal Market before delimitation in 2008.
- Sheila Dikshit first won this seat in 1998, becoming CM for three consecutive terms.
- Kejriwal’s record: Won the seat in 2013, 2015, and 2020 (61.4% votes, defeating BJP’s Sunil Kumar by 28.5%).
- Pravesh Verma’s political background:
- MP from West Delhi (2014-2024).
- MLA from Mehrauli (2013).
- Sandeep Dixit’s background:
- MP from East Delhi (2004-2014).
| Party | Candidate | Political Background |
|---|---|---|
| AAP | Arvind Kejriwal | Delhi CM (2013-Present) |
| BJP | Pravesh Verma | MP (2014-2024), Ex-MLA |
| Congress | Sandeep Dixit | Ex-MP (2004-2014) |
2. Kalkaji
- A triangular contest featuring AAP, BJP, and Congress.
- AAP candidate: Atishi, contesting for the second time.
- BJP candidate: Ramesh Bidhuri, ex-MP from South Delhi.
- Congress candidate: Alka Lamba, former MLA from Chandni Chowk.
- Political history:
- AAP’s Avtar Singh won in 2015.
- BJP’s Harmeet Singh won in 2013.
- Congress’s Subhash Chopra held the seat for 15 years.
- Atishi’s record:
- Contested 2019 Lok Sabha elections from East Delhi but lost to BJP’s Gautam Gambhir.
- Became Education Minister after Manish Sisodia’s arrest.
- BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri:
- MP (2014-2024), earlier MLA from Tughlakabad (2003-2014).
- Alka Lamba’s record:
- National President of Mahila Congress.
- Ex-MLA (Chandni Chowk, 2015, AAP).
| Party | Candidate | Political Background |
|---|---|---|
| AAP | Atishi | Education Minister |
| BJP | Ramesh Bidhuri | Ex-MP, Ex-MLA |
| Congress | Alka Lamba | Ex-MLA, Mahila Cong. Chief |
3. Jangpura
- AAP candidate: Manish Sisodia, former Deputy CM, shifting from Patparganj due to a tough contest there.
- BJP candidate: Tarvinder Singh Marwah, ex-Congress MLA (1998-2013), joined BJP in 2022.
- Congress candidate: Farhad Suri, former Mayor of Delhi and opposition leader in SDMC.
- AAP’s record:
- Praveen Kumar won in 2020 by 16,000 votes.
- BJP’s record:
- Ravindra Singh Negi lost 2020 Patparganj election to Sisodia by 3,207 votes.
- Congress’s Farhad Suri:
- Four-time councilor from Daryaganj.
- Son of Tajdar Babar, ex-MLA.
| Party | Candidate | Political Background |
|---|---|---|
| AAP | Manish Sisodia | Ex-Deputy CM, Ex-MLA (Patparganj) |
| BJP | Tarvinder S. Marwah | Ex-MLA (1998-2013), BJP since 2022 |
| Congress | Farhad Suri | Ex-Mayor, Ex-Councilor |
4. Patparganj
- AAP candidate: Avadh Ojha, a teacher-turned-politician.
- BJP candidate: Ravindra Singh Negi, a municipal councillor.
- Congress candidate: Anil Chaudhary, ex-MLA (2008-2013).
- Political demographics:
- 25% voters are from hill states.
- 30% voters are from Purvanchal.
- AAP’s record:
- Manish Sisodia won 2015 and 2020 but faced a close contest last time (2.3% margin).
- Avadh Ojha’s Promise:
- Free coaching for poor students via QR code enrollment.
- Negi’s past controversies:
- Alleged discrimination against Muslim shopkeepers.
- Anil Chaudhary’s record:
- Started in NSUI, ex-Congress state president.
| Party | Candidate | Political Background |
|---|---|---|
| AAP | Avadh Ojha | Teacher, new face |
| BJP | Ravindra S. Negi | Councillor, ex-candidate 2020 |
| Congress | Anil Chaudhary | Ex-MLA (2008-2013) |
5. Greater Kailash
- AAP candidate: Saurabh Bhardwaj, Cabinet Minister, winning this seat since 2013.
- BJP candidate: Shikha Rai, a councillor.
- Congress candidate: Sukhbir Singh Panwar, re-nominated from 2020.
- Saurabh Bhardwaj’s record:
- National spokesperson of AAP.
- Key roles in Health, Food Control, Industry Ministries.
- Shikha Rai’s background:
- BJP councillor from Greater Kailash-1.
- Lost 2020 election from Greater Kailash.
- Lost 2013 election from Kasturba Nagar.
- Sukhbir Singh Panwar’s record:
- Congress’s repeat candidate from 2020.
| Party | Candidate | Political Background |
|---|---|---|
| AAP | Saurabh Bhardwaj | Cabinet Minister, 3-time MLA |
| BJP | Shikha Rai | Councillor, ex-Mayoral candidate |
| Congress | Sukhbir S. Panwar | Ex-candidate (2020) |
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