Voting in Delhi today  (Voting ) 

Voting in Delhi: Voting  (Voting )   for the Delhi Assembly elections will be held today. Meanwhile, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is eyeing a third term, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress are hoping to re-emerge in Delhi. More than 1.56 crore voters will exercise their franchise from 7 am on Wednesday. Voting will be held at 13,766 polling stations in all 70 assembly constituencies, deciding the electoral fate of 699 candidates. This contest can give a new shape to the political landscape of the national capital. The AAP led by Arvind Kejriwal is trying to come to power for the third consecutive time on the strength of its welfare schemes. On the other hand, the BJP is trying to form the government again in the capital after more than 25 years. The Congress, which ruled Delhi for 15 years till 2013, is trying to make a comeback after failing to win a single seat in the last two assembly elections.

Voting will begin at 7 am today

Voting will begin at 7 am today and votes will be cast till 6 pm amid tight security. The Election Commission has deployed 220 companies of paramilitary forces, 35,626 Delhi Police personnel and 19,000 home guards to ensure peaceful polling. About three thousand polling stations have been marked as sensitive and special security arrangements have been made at some of these places, including drone surveillance. According to the Delhi Police, additional police forces will be deployed at sensitive polling stations. It said that quick response teams (QRTs) will also be deployed to maintain law and order. Special provisions have been made for senior citizens and disabled persons and 733 polling stations have been specially designed keeping in mind their needs.

6,980 people cast their votes under ‘Vote from Home’ facility

In an effort to streamline the process, the Election Commission has introduced a Queue Management System (QMS) app, which will enable voters to get information about the level of crowd. Apart from this, 6,980 out of 7,553 eligible voters have already cast their votes under the ‘Vote from Home’ facility. The election campaign, which officially ended at 6 pm on Monday, saw a tough fight between the three main contenders. The AAP focused on its governance model and Arvind Kejriwal and Chief Minister Atishi held rallies across the city. The BJP, led by heavyweights like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda, targeted the AAP over corruption allegations and law and order issues. The Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, also campaigned vigorously and attacked both the AAP and the BJP on various issues.

These issues dominated the elections

During the election campaign, issues like quality of Yamuna water, governance, law and order, women welfare and allegations of tampering with the voter list were raised strongly. The issue of providing free facilities also dominated the pre-election promises. AAP has promised free bus travel for students, insurance for auto and taxi drivers and financial assistance of Rs 18,000 to temple priests and granthis of gurudwaras. On the other hand, BJP has promised financial assistance of Rs 21,000 for pregnant women and subsidized LPG cylinders for Rs 500, while Congress has committed to give monthly unemployment allowance of Rs 8,500. The election results on February 8 will make it clear whether AAP is able to retain its government, BJP is able to break its losing streak or Congress is able to give a surprising result.