Early Trends and Key Battles
The tension is palpable as the vote counting kicks off for the 2025 Delhi Assembly Elections, starting at 8 AM sharp on February 8. The Election Commission of India (ECI) is keeping everyone in the loop with live updates on their official website. The elections are witnessing a three-way battle between the reigning Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the almost forgotten Congress. Most exit polls have hinted at a BJP resurgence, potentially snagging power after a dry spell of 27 years.
Yet, AAP isn't backing down without a fight. They're confident they’ve got what it takes to hold on to power, despite some political hiccups and controversies of late. The voter turnout hit 60.42% on February 5, a shade lower than the last election's 60.59%. Notably, Northeast Delhi again took the crown for highest voter turnout for the third consecutive time.
Exit polls are buzzing with predictions: BJP is estimated to bag somewhere between 35 to 42 out of the 70 seats up for grabs, while AAP is expected to secure about 25-30 seats. Congress, meanwhile, might barely make a dent with less than three seats. But AAP's shrugging off these exit polls, betting on a solid win.
AAP's Strategy and Congress's Revival Efforts
The spotlight's on some high-profile contests: Arvind Kejriwal of AAP is challenged by BJP’s Parvesh Verma and Congress’s Sandeep Dikshit in the New Delhi seat. Over in Kalkaji, Atishi from AAP is up against Ramesh Bidhuri from BJP and Congress's Alka Lamba. Meanwhile, AAP's Manish Sisodia and Amanatullah Khan are defending their territory in Jangpura and Okhla respectively.
Throughout the chaos, citizens can keep tabs on the results in real-time through the ECI’s portal, tracking trends and candidate-wise data as counting progresses. Despite all the noise about BJP allegedly trying to poach its members, AAP is focusing on its governance records and anti-corruption drives. Plus, the party's star leadership—including Kejriwal and Atishi—is reportedly trailing, but they remain unruffled, brushing off unofficial early trend reports.
Congress is clinging to hope for a comeback, fielding high-profile figures like Sandeep Dikshit for New Delhi and Jitendra Kumar Kochar for Malviya Nagar. Still, it's a tough climb ahead given they've faced two big wipeouts previously.
As the clock ticks towards 6 PM, the final results are awaited with bated breath. The neck-and-neck race between AAP and BJP is shaping up to be a real nail-biter, each party vying to steer Delhi in their direction. Stay tuned as history unfolds in India's capital.
