Delhi Assembly elections to be held on February 7, counting on February 10

The Assembly elections in Delhi, where the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are raring for another face off, will be held on February 7 and counting will be held on February 10.

Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath said candidates will have to fill all columns in affidavit.

Incidentally, this is the last election that was announced by Sampath, who will demit office on January 15 on attaining 65 years of age.

Since Delhi is the only state going to polls now, the availability of Central Para-Military Forces (CPMF) will not be a problem, the sources said, adding that about 100 CMPF companies may be enough for free and fair conduct of elections.

Delhi also does not have history of violence or booth capturing that may have been witnessed in states in the past.

The elections will be an opportunity for the resurgent BJP, which has been on a winning streak under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in various Assembly polls since its spectacular success in the Lok Sabha polls last May, to seek a clear verdict unlike the fractured decision of 2013 polls in Delhi.

The BJP, which had then faced the polls under Modi as the chief campaigner for the party, could not get a majority in Delhi unlike the stunning success it had scored in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh which also went to polls then. The AAP, which made its debut in Delhi in the last polls in 2013, emerged the largest party with 31 MLAs, followed by AAP, which got 28 MLAs.

It managed to form a government with the support of Congress (8 MLAs) and JD(U) (one) but Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal resigned in 49 days making it a short-lived government.