Vote count on February 10
Vote count on February 10
In the first high-stakes electoral battle of 2015, Delhi will go to the polls to elect a new Assembly on February 7, that will see a keen triangular contest between the AAP, Congress and BJP, which is likely to convert the election into a referendum on the Narendra Modi government.
The announcement of election dates was much awaited by all political parties, as the “Battle for Delhi” would be keenly watched as it comes just eight months after the BJP government took office at the Centre.
As of now, only the AAP has projected its national convener, Arvind Kejriwal, as its chief ministerial candidate, with both the BJP and the Congress unlikely to project any candidate. The Congress has, in a last-minute decision, infused a young face in the battle with the likely appointment of Ajay Maken as its campaign committee chief.
While the AAP has announced candidates for almost all constituencies, the BJP is yet to come out with its list of candidates. The Congress has announced candidates for 24 out of 70 constituencies.
The BJP kickstarted its formal campaign Saturday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah addressing a rally at the city’s historic Ramlila Maidan. At the rally, Mr Modi criticised the AAP’s governance record and urged the people to vote for the BJP. The AAP, however, has been campaigning relentlessly for the past few months.
While the election will take place February 7, counting of votes will be held on February 10, said chief election commissioner V.S. Sampath, who is due to retire on January 15.
The model code of conduct has come into force as soon as the elections were announced.
The notification for the polls will be issued on January 14, while the last date for filing nominations will be January 21. The last date for scrutiny will be January 22.
A total of 13 million voters are eligible to exercise their franchise across 70 constituencies in the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The national capital is likely to see a “very heated and hectic” campaign as there are no polls being held anywhere in the country in this period and the “focus of all political parties” will be on this city, a source said.
Responding to a volley of questions that the EC was not following the principle of giving a month’s time between the announcement of polls and the date of nominations, Mr Sampath said three weeks was the “outer limit” but the timeline can be reduced to two weeks or even a week.
“Giving more time would have been a ritual than a requirement as people were anticipating polls for a very long time,” he said.
On hate speech, the CEC said: “Any statement made before the model code is one thing. Any statement made after the enforcement of the model code is another... There cannot be any advance ruling on the issue. The ruling can be made when it happens... There will be strict and ruthless enforcement of the code.”
