The high-octane campaigning for all the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi came to a close on Friday evening with top leaders of the BJP-led NDA and the Opposition INDIA bloc making a last-gasp effort to woo voters.
The end of the campaigning marked the commencement of a 48-hour silence period. The polling in the national capital will be held in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha polls on May 25 (Saturday).
Polling to be held in Delhi in a single phase on all seven seats is expected to witness a tight contest between the BJP and the INDIA bloc, comprising the AAP and Congress.
The Aam Aadmi Party and Congress are contesting the elections in alliance in the national capital with the AAP contesting four and the Congress three seats. The seven parliamentary constituencies in Delhi are Chandni Chowk, East Delhi, New Delhi, North East Delhi, North West Delhi, South Delhi, and West Delhi.
During the campaign, key leaders of the prominent political parties – the BJP, Congress, and AAP reached out to voters participating in public meetings and roadshows.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held two rallies in support of seven BJP candidates contesting the Delhi Lok Sabha polls.
Before the conclusion of campaigning on Thursday, senior BJP leader and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed a public meeting in Dwarka here in support of BJP’s West Delhi Lok Sabha constituency candidate Kamaljeet Sehrawat. Union Minister Piyush Goyal held a roadshow in the Najafgarh area while Union Minister Smriti Irani held a roadshow in Ashok Vihar.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addressed a rally in support of the party’s North East Delhi candidate Kanhaiya Kumar and later held ‘Mahila Vichar Vimarsh’ in Mangolpuri.
Key candidates contesting the polls from the BJP are Manoj Tiwari (North East Delhi), Bansuri Swaraj (New Delhi); Ramvir Singh Bidhuri (South Delhi) while J P Agarwal (Chandni Chowk), and Kanhaiya Kumar (North East Delhi) are contesting on Congress tickets. Another prominent candidate is senior AAP leader Somnath Bharti (New Delhi).
The Chief Electoral Office has completed all the preparations for the voting day on May 25.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) P Krishnamurthy detailed the extensive arrangements made to ensure a smooth and efficient electoral process, highlighting the deployment of over 1 lakh polling personnel and the steps taken to protect people from the intense heat wave.
“This is a significant day, and we have made thorough preparations,” said P. Krishnamurthy. “We have meticulously planned and executed all aspects of election management, including manpower, logistics, and transport management.”
He further said that based on the directives from the Election Commission and the IMD forecast of an intense heat wave, comprehensive measures have been implemented to address the expected high temperatures of 44–45 °C.
“Our preparations are complete. Shaded areas will be established at all polling stations, with fully covered waiting zones equipped with coolers and fans to ensure voter comfort. We have ensured the availability of drinking water, toilets, ramps, and wheelchairs at every polling station under the Assured Minimum Facility Policy so that no voter faces any inconvenience. Additionally, paramedical staff equipped with basic medical kits will be stationed at all polling locations.”
Over 1.5 crore voters of the national capital are eligible to vote on May 25 while as per Electoral Roll Data, there are a total of 1,52,01,936 electors.
Meanwhile, the DCP Election Cell of the Delhi Police, Sanjay Sehrawat said on Thursday that 33,000 policemen, 51 paramilitary companies, and 17,500 home guards, who have come from Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh, would be deployed in the national capital for the Lok Sabha polls.
Sehrawat said drones have been hired in very sensitive areas to monitor any illegal activities.”Delhi Police has completed its preparations for the elections to be held on May 25. There are 2628 voting centres out of which 429 are highly sensitive. 33,000 policemen of Delhi Police will be deployed at the polling booth and apart from this, 51 paramilitary companies will also be deployed for security and 17,500 Home Guards who have come from Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and MP will also be deployed,” he said.
“We have hired drones in very sensitive areas to monitor any illegal activities,” he added.
Sehrawat further informed that a large number of CCTV cameras have been installed on the interstate borders as elections in Delhi and Haryana on the same day. “We have installed a large number of CCTV cameras on the interstate borders which will be monitored 24 hours. Since there are elections in Delhi and Haryana on the same day, therefore a joint team of Delhi Police and Haryana Police will be checking on the Delhi-Haryana border,” he said.
The DCP Election Cell also said during the entire election campaigning, the Delhi Police recovered about Rs 14 crore in cash, which is being investigated to find out where this money was to be used.
The first five phases of polling were held on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, and May 20. The next two rounds of voting will be held on May 25 and June 1. The counting of votes and declaration of results will be done on June 4.