Delhi Assembly Elections 2025: No liquor sales in the national capital on February 3-5 and 8

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The Delhi government has ordered the closure of liquor shops and other establishments serving alcohol in the city from February 3 to 5, the day of voting, and again on February 8, when the results will be declared, news agency PTI reported.

A recent gazette notification issued by the Delhi Excise Commissioner declared "dry days" under the Excise Rules 2010 for various excise licences on the voting day for the 70-member Delhi Assembly and the counting day.

"It is ordered that dry days shall be observed (during the 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for the conclusion of the poll) from 6 pm on February 3 to 6 pm on February 5, and again on February 8, being the counting day on account of Assembly polls. During the dry days, no liquor shops, hotels, restaurants, clubs, or establishments selling or serving liquor will be permitted to sell or serve liquor to anyone," stated the notification.

It further added that non-proprietary clubs, star hotels, restaurants, and hotels operated by anyone - whether issued different categories of licences for the possession and supply of liquor - should also not be permitted to serve liquor, PTI reported.

96 women in the fray for Delhi Assembly Elections 2025

Of the 699 candidates contesting in the February 5 Delhi Assembly Elections, 96 are women, as parties strive to win over female voters.

Five years ago, 76 out of 672 candidates were women, PTI reported.

Among the three key political parties in the elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have each fielded nine female candidates, while the Congress has seven women nominees. All three parties have nominated more women candidates than in the 2020 Assembly polls.

Prominent female candidates from AAP include Chief Minister Atishi, Pooja Balyan, Pramila Tokas, and Rakhi Bidlani. Besides Atishi, AAP has renominated Rakhi Bidlani, Pramila Tokas, Dhanwanti Chandela, Bandana Kumar, and Sarita Singh.

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

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

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

The Delhi Assembly Elections 2025 will be held on February 5, and the results will be declared three days later.

(With PTI inputs)