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| [PHOTO: Yogesh Mhatre/Flickr/CC BY 2.0] |
New Delhi: Voting is underway in Indian capital – Delhi – and voters can be seen lining up outside polling stations in the national capital to elect a local government.
Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), one of the two major parties in the Indian political system, has fielded former policewoman turned politician Kiran Bedi as its pick for chief minister.
But pollsters suggest an anti-corruption crusader who was briefly the chief minister of Delhi last year, will lead his Aam Admi (Common Man) party to a majority win.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi won convincingly in last summer's general election, and has ridden a wave of popularity ever since.
The Indian National Congress (INC) party, which ran the Indian capital for 15 years until 2013, is predicted to come a distant third.
Delhi has been without a government since Arvind Kejriwal, the former chief minister, resigned last February after chaotic 49 day–long tenure.
Since then the state has been governed directly by the federal authorities.
A total of over 1.33 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise for the 70-member Delhi assembly polls. A total of 673 candidates are in the fray in the contest.
Over 64,000 police personnel had been deployed across the city to ensure free and fair polls. Final results will be announced on February 10, 2015.