Delhi: The much-anticipated vote counting for the Delhi Assembly elections commenced on February 8, with polling stations across the national capital operating under tight security.
Counting is being conducted at 19 designated centres, with officials ensuring a smooth and transparent process.
Delhi’s Chief Electoral Officer Alice Vaz confirmed that 5,000 personnel, including counting supervisors, micro-observers, and support staff, have been deployed to oversee the process.
Following standard election procedures, postal ballots were taken up first, with electronic voting machines (EVMs) being unlocked 30 minutes later.
The simultaneous counting of both postal ballots and EVM votes is now underway. To enhance transparency, voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) slips from five randomly selected polling stations per constituency are being cross-checked with the EVM count.
With over 1.55 crore eligible voters, Delhi saw a voter turnout of 60.54% in the February 5 elections. To maintain law and order during the counting, a three-tier security arrangement has been put in place.
More than 10,000 security personnel, including two companies of paramilitary forces at each counting centre, have been deployed to prevent any untoward incidents.
The election results will determine whether the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) retains its stronghold over Delhi or if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) manages to stage a comeback after more than two decades.
The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP has dominated Delhi’s political landscape since 2015, sweeping 67 of the 70 assembly seats that year and securing 62 seats in the 2020 polls.
An AAP victory would further solidify Kejriwal’s leadership and reaffirm the party’s political influence in the capital.
For the BJP, which last governed Delhi in 1998, a victory would mark a significant political shift, breaking AAP’s grip on the capital.
Meanwhile, the Congress, which ruled Delhi for 15 consecutive years under Sheila Dikshit, is striving to regain lost ground after failing to win a single seat in the last two elections.
The final results will shape the future political landscape of the national capital, with all eyes on the vote count as it unfolds.
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