Polling for the 70-seat Delhi Assembly is underway today, February 5, in what is being seen as a closely fought election. The contest is largely triangular, with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Congress vying for electoral dominance in the national capital.  

AAP, which secured decisive victories in the last two elections in 2015 and 2020, is aiming for a third consecutive term, while the BJP is pushing to reclaim power after 27 years. Congress, once dominant in Delhi with a 15-year rule, is looking to revive its political fortunes.  

Over 1.5 crore voters are eligible to cast their ballots in today’s election, with 699 candidates in the fray across 13,766 polling stations. The contest is being closely watched as one of the most competitive Delhi Assembly elections in years. 

AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal is seeking a fourth consecutive victory in his stronghold of New Delhi, facing BJP’s Parvesh Verma and Congress’ Sandeep Dikshit—both sons of former chief ministers. In 2020, Kejriwal won the seat with a 21,687-vote margin. 

Former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, making his electoral debut from Jangpura, is up against BJP’s Sardar Tarvinder Singh Marwah and Congress’ Farhad Suri. AAP had previously won the seat in 2015 and 2020.  

Delhi Chief Minister Atishi is in a fierce contest against Congress leader Alka Lamba and BJP’s former MP Ramesh Bidhuri. In 2020, Atishi won the seat with an 11,393-vote margin. 

Chhatarpur has turned into a ‘battle of the Tanwars’ with AAP’s Brahm Singh Tanwar contesting against BJP’s Kartar Singh Tanwar and Congress’ Rajender Singh Tanwar. Kartar, who won on an AAP ticket in 2020, switched to BJP last year and is now its candidate.  

AAP veteran Somnath Bharti, seeking a fourth term, is up against BJP’s Satish Upadhyay and Congress’ Jitendra Kumar Kochar. 

AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj, who has consistently won the Greater Kailash seat since 2013, faces BJP’s Shikha Rai and Congress’ Garvit Singhvi. 

AAP’s Amanatullah Khan is contesting from the Muslim-dominated Okhla seat for the third time. He faces Congress' Ariba Khan and AIMIM’s Shifa Ur Rehman Khan.