New Delhi: The election contest in Delhi gathered momentum on Tuesday with the Election Commission announcing that the national capital will go to the polls on February 5 and results will be announced on February 8. All the key contenders - ruling AAP, BJP and Congress said they were ready and talked about their plans to woo the voters.
The last date of filing nominations is January 17. The date for scrutiny of nominations is January 18. While last date for withdrawal of candidature is January 20.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party welcomed the Election Commission of India's announcement of Delhi Assembly Elections and urged the people of Delhi to choose a government that focuses on providing quality services to make everyday life easier.
BJP chief JP Nadda said that the elections are the biggest festival of democracy.
"I welcome the Election Commission of India's announcement of the Delhi Assembly Elections. Elections are the biggest festival of democracy.
They are a medium to keep the country and the state advancing on the path of development and good governance. I urge the people of Delhi to choose a government that focuses on improving the standard of living, combating corruption, reducing pollution and providing quality services to make everyday life easier," BJP chief JP Nadda posted on X.
"Under the guidance of Hon. PM Narendra Modi ji, the BJP government has been continuously working towards the comprehensive development of Delhi and will further our efforts to turn the dream of a 'Viksit Delhi' into a reality," the post further reads.
Delhi BJP President Virendraa Sachdeva said that the public of Delhi was eagerly waiting for the dates of the elections.
"5 February is a date of change...The people who looted Delhi and the public of Delhi will vote to get rid of this 'AAP-da'...A double-engine government of the BJP will be formed on 8th February," Sachdeva said.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Baijayant Jay Panda on Tuesday exuded confidence of winning the Delhi Assembly elections and said that the people of the national capital want a "conflict-free government".
"BJP is fully ready. We have been preparing for several months. The people of Delhi have made up their minds. They have given 15 years to Congress, and in the last 10 years, they have given a chance to this disaster (AAP government) which has been giving false promises for 3 times in a row...Now the people of Delhi have decided they must give a chance to BJP. They see the progress in other parts of the country and they want to see the same in Delhi. They want a conflict-free government in Delhi," Panda told ANI.
Union Minister Harsh Malhotra said that the AAP government will lose polls.
"People of Delhi will get a BJP Chief Minister on 8th February. AAP government will be removed from power," said Malhotra, who is Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and Minister of State in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
Congress candidate from Kasturba Nagar Assembly constituency, Abhishek Dutt asserted the development in Delhi has taken place only under the Congress government, adding that in the assembly polls, people will vote for the Congress.
"The people of Delhi will vote for the Congress party. The people are waiting for the elections because they have been deceived for the last 11 years... The AAP government has never worked on its manifesto... The people of Delhi know that development has taken place in Delhi only under the Congress government," Dutt told ANI.
"I want to ask Arvind Kejriwal who will be the CM face of the AAP party because, after the Supreme Court order, he cannot become the Chief Minister of Delhi," he asked.
Congress leader Alka Lamba said that there was anti-incumbency against the central government and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the national capital.
She said that people have witnessed the governance for a decade and they have compared the works done under former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and others who followed. People will vote for Congress this time, Lamba added.
"There is anti-incumbency against the central as well as Delhi government. People are comparing the works done by different governments. For 15 years, Sheila Dikshit was governing. Kejriwal got a chance for three terms. People have analysed 10 years of this rule and they will vote for Congress this time," Lamba, who is a Congress candidate from the Kalkaji Assembly constituency, told ANI.
Aam Aadmi Party national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal exuded confidence in winning the Delhi Assembly elections, saying that with full strength and enthusiasm, AAP workers are ready for the polls.
"The date of the election has been announced. All the workers are ready to enter the fray with full strength and enthusiasm. You are our biggest strength. This election will be between the politics of work and the politics of abuse. The people of Delhi will have faith in our politics of work. We will definitely win," Kejriwal wrote on X.
Delhi Minister Gopal Rai said that the AAP has done all the preparations for the election.
"The people of Delhi have been waiting for this and I am happy that people will bring back Arvind Kejriwal Govt to power. AAP has done all the preparations for the election. Names of all the 70 candidates of the party have been announced. We are absolutely ready for the election," Rai said.
AAP leader Manish Sisodia urged the public of Delhi to come out and vote in large numbers on February 5.
"The public of Delhi will choose the party which provides good education, good health, free electricity...The public of Delhi will again choose Arvind Kejriwal...I urge the public of Delhi to come out and vote in large numbers...AAP government will be formed in Delhi again on 8th February," Sisodia told reporters.
AAP MLA and Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said that the people of the national capital should vote for those who have worked for them.
"The people of Delhi should vote for those who have worked for them and they should not vote for those who have created obstacles in the work...They should vote for those who have given good education, good health services, built mohalla clinics, built world-class schools," Bharadwaj told ANI.
As the elections approach, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has intensified its campaign. The BJP candidates have targeted Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over his alleged involvement in the Delhi Excise Policy case and expressed confidence in forming the next government with a "double engine" administration.
The BJP has accused the AAP leaders of corruption and misgovernance while the AAP, which is aiming to come to power for the third consecutive time, is focusing on highlighting its achievements in the education and health sector.
The Congress, which was in power for 15 consecutive years in Delhi, has suffered setbacks in the last two assembly elections and has failed to win any seat. In contrast, the AAP dominated the 2020 assembly elections by winning 62 out of 70 seats while the BJP got only eight seats.
