STORY: Local elections held in Indian capital
SHOOTING TIME: Feb. 5, 2025
DATELINE: Feb. 6, 2025
LENGTH: 00:01:30
LOCATION: New Delhi
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of India gate
2. various of voters

STORYLINE:

Voting for the local elections was held Wednesday in the Indian capital territory, Delhi, officials said.
   
Polling across the city's 70 constituencies started at 7:00 a.m. local time amid tight security and adequate arrangements, and lasted until 6:00 p.m.
    
According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), 699 candidates are in the fray for 70 seats. Over 15 million voters were eligible to exercise their franchise in the elections.
   
The ECI deployed over 180,000 polling personnel to ensure the smooth conduct of elections. Nearly 3,000 polling booths were identified as sensitive, with special security arrangements, including drone surveillance, at some locations.
   
In the elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was seeking to regain power under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal for the third straight time. The party has swept the last two elections in 2015 and 2020.
   
Kejriwal, who was forced to resign as chief minister last year after being jailed on corruption charges, is currently out on bail. He faces tough competition from India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
   
The Congress party, which ruled Delhi for 15 years, is also contesting to reclaim control over the national capital.
   
The counting of votes will be taken up on Saturday.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from New Delhi.
(XHTV)