Lok Sabha elections will be held in the national capital in a single phase on May 25, the Election Commission of India (EC) announced on Saturday. The results will be declared on June 4 when the counting of votes takes place.
After drawing a blank in the last two general elections (2014 and 2019), the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have allied with the national capital to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The BJP had won all seven seats in both 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Aam Aadmi Party, which had polled an impressive 33.1 per cent in its debut Lok Sabha election in 2014, put up a dismal performance and was relegated to the third position with its vote share down to 18.1 per cent in 2019.
Congress, meanwhile, put up an improved show. While it had barely managed just 15.2 per cent of the votes in 2014 with three of its candidates losing their security deposits, in 2019 the party polled 22.5 per cent of the votes. Though the margins of loss were huge, Congress came second on five seats.
In 2019, the BJP, Congress, and AAP were in a triangular contest. However, this time, the AAP and the Congress are contesting together as part of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) grouping.
The AAP has already announced its candidates on the four seats that the party will contest — East Delhi, South Delhi, New Delhi and West Delhi. The Congress which will contest the remaining three seats — North East, Chandni Chowk and North West — is yet to announce its candidates.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP dislodged the UPA government at the Centre, winning all seven seats in Delhi with a 46.40 per cent vote share. On the other hand, the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP and Congress were restricted to just 32.90 per cent and 15.10 per cent votes. The BJP repeated its performance in the 2019 polls and managed to increase its vote share in Delhi to 56.86 per cent, while Congress got 22.51 per cent and AAP was limited to 18.11 per cent votes.
However, this year the BJP is facing tough competition from the two parties as it will have a direct contest with the AAP on four seats and with Congress on the remaining three.
While BJP fielded Harsh Malhotra, former mayor of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation, from the East Delhi seat, it picked former North MCD mayor Yogendra Chandolia from the North West seat. Among the seven outgoing Delhi MPs, only Manoj Tiwari from the North East Delhi seat got the party ticket this time while the six others have been changed.
Why is Delhi Significant for Polls?
India’s capital city is the perfect amalgamation of politics, business and culture. Often referred to as a “melting pot” of cultures and communities, Delhi boasts of a mixed population with several bureaucrats, public- and private-sector employees. Apart from these, the city also has a thriving community of traders who form a major vote bank.
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