Delhi Assembly Elections 2025 | Hope EC will prevent polls from being tainted by communalism, other vile campaigns: Mayawati

Lucknow: BSP supremo Mayawati on Tuesday expressed hope that the Election Commission would ensure the Delhi Assembly polls were not tainted by the "misuse of government machinery, communalism, and other vile propaganda".

Polling for the 70-member Delhi Assmebly will be held on February 5 and the votes counted on February 8, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kumar announced.

Welcoming the announcement in a post on X, Mayawati said, "BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) is contesting this election independently and with full preparation and vigour. I hope the party will definitely perform better in this election."

In a series of posts in Hindi, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, said "Elections are the backbone of democracy, and the BSP, a party that stays away from muscle and money power, expects the Election Commission to prevent the elections from being polluted by the misuse of government machinery, communalism, and other vile propaganda to ensure free and fair elections."

In another post, the BSP chief appealed to voters, saying, "Do not be swayed by any party's enticing promises. Use your vote wisely to support BSP candidates who are dedicated to public interest and welfare. This is the appeal. The public and national interest lie in this choice."

Mayawati's comments came after Kumar said polarisation during poll campaigns could leave scars that might last forever and added political parties should ensure that lines were not crossed.

Kumar, who was addressing a press conference to announce the assembly poll schedule in Delhi, said words and phrases such as "democratic backsliding" and "democratic recessions" were being used around the world, and issued a word of caution to the political parties.

"World over, if you look at democracies, words like 'democratic backsliding', 'democratic recession' are being used. Country after country, you can see what is happening," he said.

"Aggression during campaigns sows seeds of impatience and younger generations are weaning away from elections," he added.