Delhi Assembly Polls 2025: 1,040 Nominations Cleared, 477 Rejected Post Scrutiny

The Delhi Assembly elections are heating up as the Office of Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi confirmed that 1,040 nominations have been accepted. This follows the scrutiny of applications for the 70 assembly seats. A total of 477 nominations were rejected during this process, which took place on January 18. The deadline for filing nominations was January 17, and candidates have until January 8 to withdraw.

Key Candidates and Controversies

Among those whose nominations were accepted are Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal, BJP's Parvesh Verma, and Congress' Sandeep Dikshit. Kejriwal is contesting from the New Delhi seat against Verma and Dikshit, both sons of former Delhi Chief Ministers. However, controversy arose when Sanket Gupta, representing BJP candidate Parvesh Verma, objected to Kejriwal's nomination. Gupta alleged that Kejriwal's affidavit contained misleading information and requested its rejection.

Allegations and Political Dynamics

Gupta further claimed that Kejriwal has a voter registration in Ghaziabad's Kaushambi area and failed to disclose criminal cases filed against him at North Avenue Police Station. As election day approaches, tensions between AAP, BJP, and Congress are escalating with mutual accusations flying. Notably, AAP and Congress are contesting separately despite being part of the INDIA alliance.

Party Strategies and Alliances

Rahul Gandhi recently questioned Kejriwal about his efforts to tackle inflation and assist the poor in Delhi. In response, Kejriwal suggested that the upcoming elections would reveal a longstanding "jugalbandi" between Congress and BJP. Meanwhile, BJP seems united within the NDA coalition, having announced candidates for 68 out of 70 seats while leaving two seats for allies JDU and LJP (RV).

Delhi voters will head to the polls on February 5 with vote counting scheduled for February 8. Historically, Congress ruled Delhi for 15 years but has struggled in recent elections without securing any seats. In contrast, AAP dominated the 2020 elections by winning 62 out of 70 seats while BJP managed only eight seats.