The Election Commission (EC) has announced that a total of 699 candidates will contest for 70 Delhi Assembly seats in the upcoming elections on February 5. The nomination process concluded on January 17, with scrutiny completed on January 18 and the final date for withdrawal on January 20.
The New Delhi constituency, where former Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal is contesting, has the highest number of candidates at 23. Key challengers in this seat include BJP’s Parvesh Verma, son of former Delhi CM Sahib Singh Verma, and Congress’ Sandeep Dikshit, son of former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit.
On the other hand, Patel Nagar and Kasturba Nagar constituencies have the lowest number of candidates, with just five each. Constituencies like Tilak Nagar, Karol Bagh, Gandhi Nagar, Greater Kailash, Mangol Puri, and Tri Nagar follow closely, with six candidates each, as per the EC.
In Greater Kailash, key contenders include AAP’s Saurabh Bhardwaj, BJP’s Shikha Rai, and Congress’ Garvit Singhvi. For Kasturba Nagar, notable candidates are AAP’s Ramesh Pahalwan, BJP’s Neeraj Basoya, and Congress’ Abhishek Dutt.
As polling day nears, Delhi’s political atmosphere is intensifying. The BJP has accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of fielding the highest number of candidates with criminal records. BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla told ANI, “AAP used to claim they wouldn’t allow criminals in their assembly because such individuals cannot pass strict laws. However, their candidate list shows that nearly 60% of their candidates have criminal records, the highest among parties, followed by Congress. This is yet another U-turn by AAP.”
The single-phase elections on February 5 will be followed by vote counting on February 8.
The Congress, which ruled Delhi for 15 consecutive years, has struggled in recent elections, failing to win a single seat in both 2015 and 2020. In contrast, the Aam Aadmi Party has dominated, securing 67 seats in 2015 and 62 seats in 2020, while the BJP managed only three seats in 2015 and eight in 2020.
With the stakes high for all major parties, the February 5 elections are set to shape the future of Delhi’s political landscape.