Elections to 70-member Delhi assembly will be held on February 5 and the votes will be counted three days later on February 8, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar announced on Tuesday.

“It is a single-phase election… We have deliberately kept polling on a Wednesday so more people come out to vote… like we did in Maharashtra,” Kumar said at a press conference.

He also stated that bypolls to two assembly constituencies—Milkipur in Uttar Pradesh and Erode in Tamil Nadu—will also be held along with that of Delhi.

Three-cornered contest

Delhi is witnessing a three-cornered contest in this polls, with ruling AAP facing anti-incumbency over its ten-year rule in the capital city. BJP and Congress are the other two parties.

For the national capital, the last date to file nominations is January 17 and the scrutiny of nominations will be done by January 18, with candidates given liberty to withdraw their nominations till January 20, as per the ECI released schedule.

Dismisses allegations of manipulation

Rajiv Kumar, however, dismissed allegations of manipulation in the electoral roll as he said that there are exhaustive steps to be completed including giving an opportunity for hearing before striking names out to take away voting rights.

“Every step of the electoral roll process is rooted in transparency and accountability. Deletion of names is not possible without adhering to strict protocols, and every party has the right to raise objections at various stages,” the CEC pointed out in his effort to clarify the controversy regarding electoral roll.

He stated that names can be added after thorough foot-and-field verification by booth-level officers (BLOs).

“Regular meetings are held with the representatives of political parties, who have the right to appoint booth-level agents (BLAs). Weekly lists of claims and objections are shared, and both draft and final rolls are published on the Election Commission’s website. Polling station rationalisation is also carried out with the consultation of all the stakeholders,” Kumar insisted.

 Strict guidelines

On deletions, Kumar clarified that they are processed only through Form 7 or Form B, following strict guidelines.

“Mandatory field verification is conducted by the BLOs, and in cases where deletions exceed 2 per cent of a polling station’s voter list, cross-verification is done. Deletions due to death require a certified death certificate, and a seven-day window is provided for objections after notices are published online. Also, the affected voters are given the opportunity for a personal hearing before their names are removed,” he said.

“No deletion can occur without thorough documentation, field verification, and giving the concerned individual an opportunity to be heard,” Kumar said.

He criticised the tendency to question the integrity of the electoral process only during elections.

“Where every vote matters, raising doubts about deletion of thousands of names without evidence is misleading. The processes we follow leave no room for manipulation,” he stated.

Of the 70 assembly seats, 58 are for general category and 12 are reserved for Schedule Castes (SCs).