Delhi elections 2015: After high-pitch campaign, voters to give their verdict on February 7

NEW DELHI: After a high-voltage campaign marked by a record number of over 21,000 plus rallies, Delhi's over 1.33 crore voters will give their verdict in the Capital contest slated for February 7. All eyes are now on the voter turnout as that will determine the outcome of a battle largely between BJP and AAP with Congress struggling for revival.

For 70 seats, there are 673 candidates in the fray, and 63 of them are women. The campaign, marked by acrimonious exchanges between the main players at meetings, rallies and padyatras which led to a lot of bitterness, ended at 6pm on Thursday.

Delhi, particularly its middle class, shook off its indifference in the 2013 assembly polls. The city was ruled by a three-time incumbent Congress government led by Sheila Dikshit. That year Delhi recorded an impressive 65.6% voter turnout, the highest in assembly polls. The voters did an encore with 65.1% in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. This vote for change spelt the end of Congress rule in the city, delivering a hung assembly with AAP emerging as a formidable factor.

This time the city is going to polls with 14 lakh voters added to the electoral rolls since 2013. It's a three-cornered contest with opinion polls showing a close fight between BJP and AAP. In the 2013 polls, the city had a voter base of 1.19 crore which had increased to 1.27 crore in the April Lok sabha elections and now stands at 1.33 crore.

The youth voter who turned out in large numbers during the last assembly elections will be watched keenly this time too. There are over 2.2 lakh first-time voters in the age-group of 18-19 who make up 1.70% per cent of the total voters. There are 37 lakh voters in the age-group of 20-29. Women, who were a prime mover in the last election, account for 59 lakh voters this time.

Polling begins on Saturday at 7.00 am. The city's track record shows that the low-income settlements, unauthorized colonies and slums record high turnouts. The middle class and youth used to stay away from polling till the advent of AAP in 2013 when they turned up in large numbers.

To make the process smooth, 95,000 officials are on duty and 55,000 policemen will be keeping vigil. "Special focus will be on 741 sensitive polling stations, of which 191 are rated as highly-critical. Vehicular movement will be under watch on 152 roads linking Haryana and UP till counting day on February 10," Delhi CEO Chandra Bhushan Kumar said.