Delhi goes to polls on Feb 8, counting on Feb 11

New Delhi (IANS) The election commission on Monday announced February 8 to be the date of Delhi assembly elections. Model code of conduct comes into effect with the announcement, the EC said.

The date of notification is January 14, while January 21 will be the last date of filing nominations.

There are total of seventy seats in Delhi out of which Aam Aadmi Party won sixty seven last time.

Mainly three political parties are in the fray for the election -- Aam Aadmi Party, Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress.

Chief Electoral Officer Sunil Arora, whose tenure is ending on February 22, said that he held a meeting with Chief Secretary and senior officials last month about holding elections.

Ninety thousand officials are to be deployed for poll duties, he said. Additional secretaries will look after deployment of officers.

Arora lamented that some constituencies in Delhi had lower turnouts last time than Maoists affected areas. But he assured that the EC is taking all steps to ensure more participation this time. There are 13,750 polling stations in Delhi.

Arora also announced pick and drop facilities for senior citizens who would like to vote. The postal ballot facility for people with disabilities and senior citizens above the age of eighty is also available.

Teams for monitoring the media has also been formed, informed the Election Commission.