The election campaign in Delhi will end quietly on Wednesday at 7 am. The silent period for the much-awaited polling day begins from Wednesday. The one-month-long campaign for the Delhi Legislative Assembly elections will end with this silent period when no political activity is allowed. There is fierce competition for the Delhi Elections with main opposition parties being from the Bharatiya Janata Party, AAP, and the Congress fighting aggressively. The AAP, targeting three consecutive victories, has not wasted a moment with hectic campaign programs. BJP, on the other hand, has been focusing on seat gain. It expects to gain votes and secure some seats, whereas Congress is working hard to regain its position. Congress is emphasizing local issues and offering concrete development to regain its lost ground.
Prominent leaders such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have been spearheading the campaign. The AAP has highlighted its development model by focusing on welfare schemes, better governance, and the resolution of issues like corruption and the Yamuna River's pollution. The BJP's core focus has been on the concerns of the nation and region, such as communal harmony and the development of Delhi under the central government.
The BJP used promises and aligned itself as a party that only it could promise to keep this nation safe, which would give stability to the city of Delhi. The Congress, led by Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, attempted to gain influence using promises of restarting the progress in Delhi and dealing with the problems of the citizenry through more concrete policy promises. In contrast, Kejriwal's final remarks focused on the shortcomings of the BJP-led central government, accusing it of failing Delhi’s students, especially in education and welfare.
Along with all these high-level political stints, election violence has also remained an issue for discussion, to which Kejriwal pointed toward action, stating that one needs to do action against people creating such electoral violence. To his further moves toward action, Kejriwal filed several complaints with the Election Commission pertaining to people engaging in violence-mongering processes. The Election Commission and others are keeping their eye on campaigns with multiple FIRs on multiple counts, involving bribes attempt being distributed amongst the voters.
All the political leaders went out on an all-out spree of impassioned speeches and promises in the last stretch of the campaign, ahead of the February 8th vote that would decide the contest. In this charged atmosphere, it is still to be seen which party will emerge victorious in what promises to be a hard-fought contest.