Delhi Assembly election dates: Polling on February 5, counting on February 8. Details here

The dates for the first big election battle of 2025 were announced today, as the Election Commission of India declared that the Delhi Assembly polls will be held on February 2, 2025. The counting will take place on February 8.

The election will be held in a single phase, Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar said. The last date for filing nominations is January 17, 2025, while the last date for withdrawal of candidature is January 20.

There are 1.55 crore voters in Delhi, and 13,033 polling booths will be set up, the CEC said.

Bypolls to two assembly constituencies—Milkipur in Uttar Pradesh and Erode in Tamil Nadu—will follow the same schedule.

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The high-stakes fight will see the Aam Aadmi Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress battling it out for the 70 seats. The AAP has been in power in the national capital since 2015.

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In the last assembly elections in 2020, the AAP won a staggering 62 seats, while the BJP bagged the remaining eight, with the Congress drawing a blank.

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Kumar also defended the election process manipulation and the EVMs, amid allegations of manipulation. "Canards being spread about wrongful additions or deletions in electoral rolls to target particular groups. Right to question is inherent in democracy, it's our duty to clear all doubts," he said.

Kumar assured all "due process will be followed rigorously in deletions or additions to voter lists", and that will be no room for any manipulation. "Political parties are involved at each and every stage of voter list preparation with full disclosure and opportunity to object," he added.

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Saying that courts have ruled on 42 occasions that EVMs are not hackable, Kumar said that the allegations of tampering are totally baseless. “No Trojan Horse or virus can be introduced in the EVMs.”

The CEC also said that it is "impossible" to change voter turnout data and so, the allegations on the sudden jump in poll percentage post 5pm is misconceived.