New Delhi, February 8: Despite a high-octane charged up campaign in the national capital over the last fortnight, voters appeared to be less enthusiastic on the voting day. The turnout figures hinted at a sharp dip in electoral participation vis-a-vis 2015. This came despite repeated appeals by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, urging the registered voters to cast their mandate. Live Updates of Delhi Assembly Elections 2020.

Till 3 pm, the Election Commission had recorded a turnout of 31.2 percent, which was way lower than 41.2 percent recorded till the same time period in 2015. The overall turnout in the last assembly elections was 67.2 percent, nearly 1.45 percent higher than 2010. Pollsters are expecting a way lower turnout in the polls held today.

The results of Delhi assembly elections would be declared on February 11, when the Election Commission has scheduled the counting of votes. The primary battle, according to the political pundits, is poised between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The two parties were locked in a vicious pre-poll battle, particularly in the 12 days preceding the elections when the discourse plunged to a new low. During the course of campaign, BJP leaders used the "terrorist" tag against the incumbent chief minister, whereas, Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur landed in row for making a crowd chant "goli maaro *****".

West Delhi lawmaker Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma was the only star campaigner to be censured and punished twice by the polling body for his contentious remarks. The BJP MP was first barred from campaigning for 96 hours after referring to the Shaheen Bagh protesters as "murderers and rapists". He faced a second ban of 24 hours on Thursday for calling Kejriwal a "terrorist".

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 08, 2020 05:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).