By Ahmad Adil
NEW DELHI (AA) - Voting began Wednesday morning to elect the state legislature in Delhi, according to officials.
Millions of voters are eligible to cast ballots in the legislative assembly elections in the city, which is being ruled by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which first came to power in 2015 and is now eyeing a third consecutive term, banking on its welfare schemes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is looking to wrest back Delhi for the first time in nearly three decades. India’s main opposition Congress party has also made extensive efforts to woo voters in poll campaigning.
According to election authorities, 15.6 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots across 13,766 polling stations which have been set up across the capital in 70 Assembly constituencies. A total of 699 candidates are in the fray in the voting, which will continue till evening.
Ahead of Wednesday’s polling, the Election Commission of India urged people to come out.
“Don't miss your chance to shape democracy - make your vote count,” the poll body wrote on X.
Prime Minister Modi also urged voters "to participate in this festival of democracy with full enthusiasm and cast their valuable vote.”
Campaigning, which had ended Monday, witnessed parties targeting each other and using AI-generated memes and digital campaigns.
Modi’s party during the campaigning accused the AAP of using the capital's resources for its “political gains” and urged people to vote for the saffron party.
Rebutting the charges, the AAP, led by Arvind Kejriwal, who is also a fierce critic of Modi, however, is sure about a third win, estimating Monday that his party will get at least 55 seats.
During the campaigning, the AAP alleged that the Election Commission of India (ECI) is protecting the wrongdoing of the Bharatiya Janata Party, a charge denied by the poll body.
-Poll promises
The BJP, which released its roadmap for a "brighter future" for Delhi, has promised financial monthly assistance of 2,500 Indian rupees ($29) to women from poor families and the government will eliminate corruption from the existing schemes.
The AAP, which won 62 out of 70 seats in the last election held in 2020, which boasts its work done by the party in the areas of education and health in the capital in its 15 “guarantees,” has pledged a monthly payment of 2,100 rupees ($24) to all women voters and also free bus rides to students.
The opposition Congress party, which ruled the capital for several years until 2013, also has announced 2,500 rupees ($29) per month to a woman in every poor household, besides a stipend of 8,500 rupees ($97) per month to all unemployed youth.