New Delhi [India], February 5 : Voting in the Delhi Assembly elections concluded in all the 11 districts of the national capital with a voter turnout of 57.70 per cent till 5 pm amid the reports of alleged irregularities, bribery, and bogus voting to influence the election.
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party accused Bharatiya Janata Party of "openly distributing money" in the Jangpura assembly constituency.
"In Jangpura, BJP is openly taking voters to a building and distributing money," AAP wrote on X.
Delhi Police was quick to refute claims of voter bribery, responding to the allegations Delhi Police in a post on X, stated, "Allegations of voter bribery at Sarai Kale Khan were promptly investigated. Police, along with the Exe. Magistrate/Flying Squad Team (FST), ensured thorough verification. No evidence was found to substantiate the claims. Effective Police presence is maintained for peace and order."
AAP also accused Delhi Police of voter coercion at the Sainik Vihar polling station in Shakur Basti, alleging that Delhi police is "hijacking the election".
The post read, "Amit Shah's Delhi Police is trying to hijack the elections. People themselves are telling how Delhi Police is forcibly making people vote in favour of BJP at Sainik Vihar polling station, Shakur Basti. The people of Delhi are watching everything and are responding to the conspiracies of BJP by voting in large numbers."
District Election Office (DEO) North Delhi dismissed the allegation and said, "This is with reference to a complaint received on February 5, 2025, at 12:33 PM, alleging that police personnel at Sainik Vihar forced a voter to exercise their vote in favor of a particular political party. Upon receiving the complaint, the Flying Squad (FST) was immediately dispatched to the location. The team reached the site and initiated an inquiry."
The inquiry revealed that the voters had cast their ballot independently, without any external influence.
AAP's candidate from Greater Kailash Vidhan Sabha Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) and Station House Officer (SHO) at East of Kailash were trying to influence the elections and if action is not taken against them he would approach the Supreme Court.
Saurabh Bharadwaj said, "I have posted both videos on 'X' and tagged the Police Commissioner and the Election Commission on it. One is from East of Kailash Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya No.1. People were getting down from car parked just in front of booth and gave their votes while a women who came in auto to vote was stopped 200 mts away. Should the DCP and SHO not be suspended? They were doing duty for BJP. They are trying to influence the elections but no action is being taken. Both EC and Police Commissioner have not answered to my tweet. If no action is taken, I will approach the SC."
He also alleged that the Delhi Police were trying to stop people from casting their votes at a polling station in Chirag Delhi.
However, South Delhi DCP Ankit Chauhan said that the police would investigate the concerns raised by the AAP leader. "There is an exception for the elderly and those who cannot walk. For them, bringing their car inside is allowed. This rule is being implemented everywhere. We will investigate the places where Saurabh Bharadwaj is raising concerns," Ankit Chauhan said.
On the other hand, BJP workers held protests in the Seelampur Assembly constituency alleging incidents of bogus voting as voters lined up to cast their votes
BJP candidate from the Seelampur Assembly constituency, Anil Gaur said, "These 300-400 fake voters have been brought from Loni in Uttar Pradesh, I feel like they are Bangladeshis, there are both men and women...we caught such 25 people, there is fake voting happening here. We have stopped it in several schools. Kejriwal is doing bogus voting."
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha alleged that the security personnel deployed outside the polling stations did not allow their relievers to go inside the polling booth.
Chadha claimed that they have received several such complaints in almost half the booths in the New Delhi assembly.
Meanwhile, Delhi Police nabbed two people for attempting to cast fake votes in the Kasturba Nagar assembly constituency, official sources said.
As per the sources, two people attempted to cast fake votes at Savodaya Vidyalaya in the Andrews Ganj area of the Kasturba Nagar assembly constituency.
They have been caught by the Delhi Police and are being interrogated.
"Two people were going to Savodaya Vidyalaya in Andrews Ganj area of Kasturba Nagar assembly constituency of Delhi to cast fake votes with slips when they were caught by the police. Both are being interrogated," said Delhi Police sources.
Delhi observed a voter turnout of 57.70 per cent till 5 pm in the single-phase of assembly elections.
The North-East district of the national capital saw the highest turnout at 63.83 per cent turnout among all districts.
Whereas, the lowest turnout of 53.77 per cent was recorded in the South East district just behind the New Delhi district where a turnout of 54.37 per cent was recorded at 5 pm.
According to the ECI, the South West district recorded a turnout of 58.86 per cent, East 58.98 per cent, North 57.24 per cent, North West 58.05 per cent, Shahdara 61.35 per cent, South 55.72 per cent, Central 55.24 per cent and West 57.42 per cent, as of 5 pm.
The results of this three-way battle between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Congress are set to be announced on February 8, when the vote counting will take place.