Delhi Election: Assembly polls in Delhi witness 8.10% turnout by 9 am

As of 9 am, the national capital saw a low voter turnout of 8.10 percent in the single-phase Delhi assembly elections, according to the Election Commission of India. The North East district of Delhi had the highest turnout at 10.70 percent among all districts, followed by the South West district with 9.34 percent. The New Delhi district saw a low voter turnout of 6.51 percent. According to the ECI, the Central district had a turnout of 6.67 percent, East 8.21 percent, North 7.12 percent, North West 7.66 percent, Shahdara 8.92 percent, South 8.43 percent, South East 8.36 percent, and West 6.76 percent.

In the bye-assembly elections, the Milkipur assembly constituency saw a voter turnout of 13.34 percent. Meanwhile, the Erode (East) constituency in Tamil Nadu reported a turnout of 10.95 percent by 9 am during the bypolls. Polling started on Wednesday morning for 70 assembly seats in Delhi and by-polls for one seat each in Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. Voting began at 7:00 am today.

Amid stringent security measures, voters participated in the election across all constituencies. In Delhi, the key contested regions include New Delhi, Jangpura, Kalkaji, Ohkla, Mustafabad, Bijwasan, Kasturba Nagar, Greater Kailash, Patparganj, among others. These elections are crucial for AAP, BJP, and Congress. AAP aims to secure its third consecutive term, while BJP seeks to reclaim power after nearly 27 years.

The Congress party, which governed the state for 15 years, faced significant challenges in securing even a single seat in the 2015 and 2020 elections. This time, the party is aiming for a comeback. Meanwhile, AAP, which currently occupies over 60 of the 70 seats in the assembly, is seeking re-election by highlighting its past achievements. The New Delhi seat is witnessing a high-profile three-way contest among former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal (AAP), BJP's Parvesh Verma, and Congress's Sandeep Dikshit (son of former CM Sheila Dikshit).

In Jangpura, the electoral battle features AAP's Manish Sisodia, Congress's Farhad Suri, and BJP's Tarvinder Singh Marwah. Across the 70 assembly constituencies in the national capital, a total of 699 candidates are competing. Meanwhile, in Uttar Pradesh's Milkipur, the SC-reserved constituency's 3,70,829 voters will determine the candidates' fates, with the main competition anticipated between Samajwadi Party's Ajit Prasad and BJP's Chandrabhanu Paswan. Vote counting is scheduled for February 8.