EC cracks whip as Delhi goes to polls

AAP, BJP go head-to-head; Cong. first list has 24 candidates

Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath during a press conference in New Delhi on Monday.

Nearly a year after Delhi was brought under President’s Rule, the Capital will vote on February 7 to elect 70 members to the Legislative Assembly. Chief Election Commissioner V.S. Sampath, on Monday announced the election dates which brings Model Code of Conduct into effect. “We expect a heated political campaign in Delhi,” said Mr. Sampath. “The previous elections saw Delhi going to polls along with other States. This time the focus of all political parties will be on the Delhi polls,” he said.

He said the EC has put in place mechanisms to conduct a free and fair election in Delhi and all measures to keep a check on the “abundance of money power” will be taken. While filing of nominations will begin on Wednesday, the last date for nominations is January 21.

The results will be announced on February 10.

The announcement of the schedule for the election, seen as a direct contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party and Aam Aadmi Party, saw both parties exude confidence. An AAP spokesperson said the elections should have been held last year and blamed the Central governments run by the Congress and then the BJP for the delay. Confident that the party would win , he said if that happened, Arvind Kejriwal would take an oath on February 14, the first anniversary of his resignation.

While the AAP has declared candidates for all seats and the Congress has come up with its first list of 24, the BJP is yet to deliberate on even a tentative list. “From the first day, BJP has been very confident of winning Assembly polls. We will go among the people with full energy and seek their support in the forthcoming polls,” a Delhi BJP spokesperson said.

Delhi elections schedule

Last date for nomination	January 21, 2015
Scrutiny of nomination	January 22, 2015
Last date for withdrawing nomination	January 24, 2015
Voting	February 7, 2015
Counting	February 10, 2015
Completion of poll process	February 15, 2015

> Read more on Delhi Assembly elections

Key developments in Delhi Assembly polls The Delhi Assembly elections throws up a hung verdict. With the BJP bagging 31 seats in the 70-member Assembly, followed by the AAP with 28 seats and the Congress, 8, uncertainty prevails over government-formation. One seat each has gone to an Independent, the JD(U) and the Akali Dal, which is an ally of the BJP. >Read here As the deadlock over government formation continued for a week, LG Najeeb Jung submits report to President Pranab Mukherjee, recommending several options including imposition of the President’s rule, with the Assembly kept in suspended animation. >Read here AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal announces decision to form next government in Delhi >Read here The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government proves its majority on the floor of the House with the backing of the Congress, JD(U) and an independent legislator. >Read here Thwarted from introducing the Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal resigns from the post of Chief Minister, 48 days after assuming power power. He recommends the dissolution of the Delhi State Assembly >Read here The President’s rule was imposed in Delhi while the Legislative Assembly was kept under suspended animation. >Read here In November 2014, the Delhi Assembly was dissolved and the by-polls were cancelled after all major political parties declined to form the government. >Read here Fresh polls were announced >Read here