NEW DELHI, Feb 6 (NNN-XINHUA) – Campaigning for upcoming local elections here in the Indian capital reached a crescendo, as different political parties are trying hard to woo voters to their side.
Thursday (today) will mark the last day of campaigning for the elections in the city.
Almost all the top leaders of contesting parties, like Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress are addressing roadshows, public meetings and rallies, besides making door to door campaigns in the city.
On Tuesday, Indian Prime Minister and BJP leader, Narendra Modi, Congress leaders Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, addressed election rallies in the capital.
During the city’s previous elections held in 2015, AAP swept polls and registered a landslide victory, by winning 67 of 70 seats. The BJP won just three, while India’s grand old Congress party, failed to win even a single seat.
Voting for the elections is scheduled to take place this Saturday, and results will be declared next week, Feb 11.
Delhi’s incumbent Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, who is seeking a second term, urges parties to vote on the basis of his report card.
The ongoing protests against the controversial new citizenship law, found centre stage in the campaigning. The BJP leaders supporting the law accuse the people protesting against the law of being “anti-nationals.”
The law aims at granting citizenship to illegal immigrants belonging to six religions, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Parsi and Christianity, from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Islam is excluded.
Opposition parties and civil society members criticise the law as contrary to secular principles, enshrined in India’s constitution as it excludes Muslims.
There have been instances of firing at the protest sites in the city, in a bid to scare the protesters. However, so far they have stood the ground.
Meanwhile, the election commission issued a notification, restricting media from conducting or publishing any exit poll during the elections on Saturday (Feb 8).– NNN-XINHUA
