Paid holiday, realtime app to ensure good turnout for Delhi polls: Election office | Latest News Delhi

Paid holiday, efficient queue management systems, deployment of 100,000 personnel across 13,766 polling stations, mobile app for crowd updates and setting up of 70 all-women polling stations are among the key arrangements in place to ensure maximum turnout for the Delhi Assembly elections on February 5, Delhi’s chief electoral officer (CEO) R Alice Vaz said on Friday.

There are 699 contestants in the fray, with counting of votes scheduled for February 8. The CEO office has declared paid holiday on February 5 to facilitate maximum voter turnout.

“Paid holiday has been declared on February 5, which will also be a dry day. To motivate residents to vote, various restaurants in Delhi have agreed to offer exclusive discounts to voters who show their voting ink mark on the next day of poll,” a poll official said.

Further, the CEO office has also developed a queue management system app and webpage—they claim it is the first in the country—to monitor crowds real-time. The app “Delhi Election – 2025 QMS” is available in Google Play Store.

“Long queues outside polling stations work as a deterrent for many voters. Often, voters leave without casting their ballots due to long queues. However, with this app, they can access live crowd updates, helping them to plan their visit to the polling booth accordingly,” Sachin Rana, additional CEO, said.

The poll panel has commissioned 21,584 ballot units of EVMs (electronic voting machines), 20,692 control units and 18,943 VVPATs (voter-verified paper audit trail) for the election. “Mock polls were also conducted in randomly selected EVMs by contesting candidates or representatives, in their presence, as per the guidelines of the Commission. Political parties and contesting candidates were duly informed in advance at every stage of EVM activities and were involved in the mock process,” Vaz said.

According to the updated voter data released on Friday, Delhi has 15,614,000 voters (see box for detailed break-up). In all, 13,766 polling stations, including 733 auxiliary polling stations across 2,696 polling locations, have been set up.

A total of 6,647 electors have so far cast their votes through home voting, of 6,488 eligible senior citizens aged 85+ and 1,051 persons with disabilities. “This initiative reflects the Election Commission’s unwavering commitment to inclusive democracy. By bringing the voting process to the doorsteps of senior citizens and PwDs, we are ensuring that no voter is left behind,” Vaz said.

Officials said they will set up colour-coded polling booths in stations with multiple booths. “The specific colour code assigned to a particular polling station will be printed in the voter information slip. This aims to reduce confusion, minimise delays, and ensure a smoother voting process. Over 70% voters have been given voters slips so far,” an election official said.

The CEO’s office also said that the smallest constituency, by area, is Ballimaran and by population is Delhi Cantonment. The respective largest ones are Narela and Vikas Puri.

Further, the CEO said 97,955 personnel, 8,715 volunteers, 220 companies of central paramilitary forces, 19,000 home guards and 35,626 police personnel will be deployed for the elections. There will also be 70 all-women-managed polling stations.