Scrutiny of nomination papers for Assembly elections in Delhi is underway. About 1178 candidates of different political parties including independents have filed their nominations for the 70-member Assembly polls. The prominent candidates include Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, BJP Chief Ministerial candidate Dr. Harsh Vardhan and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal.

Congress, Aam Aadmi party and BSP have filed nominations from all the seats while BJP is contesting from 66 seats and its ally Akali Dal from four seats. Samajwadi party candidates have filed nominations from 30 constituencies and NCP from 13.

Candidates can withdraw their nomination papers by Wednesday. Polling will take place on the 4th of next month and counting on the 8th along with four other States – Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram.

AIR Correspondent reports that corruption, rise in prices of essential commodities, hike in water and electricity charges and infrastructure development are emerging as major issues in the campaigning which is gradually picking up.

In Chhattisgarh, the second and the final phase of polling in 72 assembly constituencies will be held tomorrow. Campaigning for these constituencies ended last evening. Out of 72 assembly seats, 17 are reserved for the scheduled tribes and nine for the scheduled castes. Elaborate security arrangements have been made for the smooth conduct of polling.