The Delhi Assembly elections will be held on February 7, the Election Commission said on Monday, while the counting of votes will be held three days later on February 10.
The 70-member Delhi Assembly was dissolved in November last year after the three major parties in the national capital – the BJP, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party – said they were not in a position to form the government, leading to the President’s Rule since February, 2014.
AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal was the last chief minister of Delhi and his term ended abruptly after a brief 49 days in power over differences with the other parties on the Jan Lokpal Bill in February last year.
The parties have already begun their campaign in the national capital. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally in the Ramlila Maidan on Saturday. If his speech is any indication, the BJP considers the AAp as its main rival in the forthcoming elections. “We need development here, not anarchy. They are good at dharnas… we are good at running government,” Modi said.
The BJP does not have a chief ministerial candidate this year, although the AAP has pitched the February 7 election as a Kejriwal vs Jagdish Mukhi of the BJP fight. The Congress, which ruled Delhi for three terms in a row, on Monday announced former Union Minister Ajay Maken as its face for the polls.
