Delhi Assembly Elections 2025 | Counting of votes begins at 19 locations amid tight security

New Delhi: Counting of votes for Delhi's 70 assembly constituencies began amid tight security at 19 locations across the national capital on Saturday.

Delhi's Chief Electoral Officer Alice Vaz said 5,000 personnel, including counting supervisors and assistants, micro-observers, and support staff trained for the process, had been deployed for the exercise.

According to the Conduct of Election Rules, postal ballots will be counted first and the process of counting of votes recorded in electronic voting machines (EVMs) begin 30 minutes later.

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After that, counting of votes cast through postal ballots and EVMs will continue simultaneously.

Since 2019, VVPAT (voter verifiable paper audit trail) slips from five randomly selected polling stations per assembly constituency are matched with the EVM count for greater transparency.

Delhi, with 1.55 crore eligible voters, recorded a turnout of 60.54 per cent in the February 5 election.

A three-tier security arrangement with 10,000 police personnel, including two companies of paramilitary forces at each centre, has been put in place.

The results will reveal if AAP's political dominance in Delhi remains intact or is dented enough by the BJP for the saffron party to return to power for the first time since 1998.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP has dominated Delhi's political map since 2015, routing both the BJP and the Congress in the assembly polls held that year by winning 67 of the 70 seats.

It returned to power in 2020 with 62 seats.

An AAP victory will re-establish Kejriwal's dominance in Delhi and enhance his political stature nationally.

However, a win for the BJP will not only return the saffron party to power in the national capital after more than 26 years but also break AAP and Kejriwal's grip on Delhi.

The Congress, which governed Delhi from 1998 to 2013, is looking to stage a comeback after failing to win a single seat in the previous two elections.

Delhi Assembly Election 2025 | The first of two state assembly polls this year sees a three-way contest between AAP, Congress, and BJP in the nation's capital. AAP decided to contest the polls alone, causing rumours of a rift in I.N.D.I.A. BJP, meanwhile, is hoping the liquor excise policy scam and pollution in Delhi will give the saffron party an edge over AAP. Kejriwal, on the other hand, has different plans with his demand for reservations for Delhi Jats. Congress will also be looking to make its presence felt and has not held back from attacking its own alliance partner. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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