Delhi elections: 96 women in fray for Feb 5 polls

Delhi elections: Of the 699 candidates in the fray for the February 5 Delhi assembly elections, 96 are women as parties jockey to woo women voters to win the polls.

Five years earlier, 76 of the 672 candidates were women.

Among three key political parties in the elections, the BJP and AAP have fielded nine female candidates each whereas the Congress has seven women nominees. All three parties have fielded more women candidates this time than the 2020 Assembly polls.

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The prominent women candidates from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) include Chief Minister Atishi, Pooja Balyan, Pramila Tokas, and Rakhi Bidlani. Besides Atishi, it has renominated Rakhi Bidlani, Pramila Tokas, Dhanwanti Chandela, Bandana Kumar, and Sarita Singh.

New faces for AAP this time include Anjana Parcha and Pooja Balyan, the wife of MLA Naresh Balyan, who is contesting from Uttam Nagar. Naresh Balyan was recently arrested for his alleged links to gangster Kapil Sangwan.

Among the BJP’s women nominees, the prominent are Rekha Gupta, Poonam Sharma, Shikha Rai, and Priyanka Gautam. Of the Congress’ seven female candidates, the key nominees include Alka Lamba, Ariba Khan, Ragini Nayak, and Aruna Kumari.

A total of 981 candidates had filed their papers during the week-long nomination window, which commenced on January 10. The final count was determined after scrutiny on January 18, followed by the last date for withdrawal on January 20.

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The elections will be held on February 5 and the results will be declared on February 8.