Delhi D-Day: AAP eyes 4th term, BJP comeback
The results of the high-voltage Delhi Assembly elections will be declared on Saturday as a determined BJP looks to stop the Aam Aadmi Party’s march to power for a fourth term by staging a comeback after 27 years.
The Congress is also looking for some gains after drawing a blank in the last two elections.
The counting of votes will begin at 7 am and the results are expected by 6 pm. The fate of 699 candidates is on the line.
Delhi has a complex electoral landscape, with diverse constituencies, ranging from urban and affluent areas to sprawling slums on the outskirts. The city’s demographic complexity — its significant migrant population, young electorate, and varied economic groups — adds layers of intricacy to the election campaigns.
The past 30 days saw a fierce campaign by all three parties where AAP’s alleged corruption, Delhi’s poor state of infrastructure, alleged Yamuna contamination dominated the poll scene as PM Narendra Modi coined the phrase “AAP-Da” (disaster) to describe AAP’s decade-long rule in Delhi.
The AAP, which faced a relentless onslaught from its rival factions throughout the campaign period, has repeatedly accused the BJP of “Machiavellian manoeuvres” to subvert the democratic mandate and levelled a range of allegations such as manipulating electoral rolls, distributing cash to voters and offering Rs 15 crore in bribe to its candidates.
The Congress, on the other hand, began the electioneering on a subdued note, picking up the pace in the last leg with its top leaders and Gandhi scions equally attacking both the rival parties even as the AAP is still their partner in INDIA bloc.
The elections also exposed fractures within the bloc as some of the core members — the TMC, Samajwadi Party and Shiv Sena (UBT) — sidelined the grand-old party (which is having the maximum number of seats in the Lok Sabha) and supported the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP.
On February 5, 60.54% of the 1.56 crore voters exercised their franchise. This is around two per cent short of the turnout during the last elections. In 2020, the voter turnout stood at 62.59%, around four per cent shy of 67.47% registered in 2015.
