Delhi Assembly polls: As it happened

8:16 pm: Whole election went peacefully, no difficulties in terms of any issue which needed great deal of intervention: EC 

8:15 pm: Poll percentage for Delhi Assembly election is expected go a little bit further: Chandra Bhushan Kumar, Chief Electoral Officer 

8:15 pm: We are happy to announce this election has been unprecedented in terms of voter turn out, poll percentage has crossed 67.08%: EC

6:00 pm: However the voters who joined the lines outside polling booths till 6 pm will be allowed to cast their votes.

6:00 pm: Voting for Delhi Assembly polls officially ends.

5:30 pm: 63.46% votes were polled till 5 pm. 

5:00 pm: As voting nears its end, both the BJP and the AAP claim victory. ​

4:01 pm: Speaking to a news channel, Chief Election Commissioner HS Brahma expressed confidence that the voting percentage will cross 70% in Delhi Assembly elections.

3:51 pm: 53% voting till 3 pm

3:25 pm: Amazing sense of joy, tweets Kiran Bedi

Amazing joy and sense of victory and success writ large across people. Mood of festivity...and celebration..thanku friends..

— Kiran Bedi (@thekiranbedi) February 7, 2015

Just can't even walk by a booth.So much of a feeling of exhilaration. Hence driving past d booths to thank all karyakartas for tireless work

— Kiran Bedi (@thekiranbedi) February 7, 2015

3:05 pm: With just hours left before polling comes to a close, Delhiites are coming out in strength to cast their votes. 46% voting has been recorded till 2 pm. 

2:45 pm: Kiran Bedi will be the next CM of Delhi, tweets BJP leader Subramanian Swamy 

Announcing next CM of Delhi is Kiran Bedi

— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) February 7, 2015

2:35 pm: BJP MP from North-East Delhi Manoj Tiwari claims that his party will win 43+ seats.

2.10 pm: Kejriwal tweets about long queues of voters at polling booth.

Polling slowed down in many places. Long queues. Its taking 2 hrs in some places. Voters returning(1/3)

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 7, 2015

As per rules, 3 voters r allowed inside booth at a time. They r allowing only 1 voter, which has slowed down voting(2/3)

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 7, 2015

Even lunch breaks being taken which is against rules. EC shud immediately intervene(3/3)

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 7, 2015

1:50 pm: AAP complains to Election Commission against Kiran Bedi for allegedly violating model code of conduct in Krishna Nagar. Bedi had held a padyatra to reach out to voters today.

1:40 pm: Responding to Nupur Sharma's charge that she was manhandled by AAP workers, party leader Sanjay Singh said that she should go and file a police complaint. He added that it was infact AAP workers who were being attacked in Delhi.

1:30 pm: 35.5% voting till 1 pm

1:10 pm: BJP workers have given up, they know they are losing, it's almost a one-way contest, says Arvind Kejriwal

1:05 pm: AAP workers misbehaved with me at Karawal Nagar. They even abused me; they have taken Arvind Kejriwal as their God, that's the reason why they do such acts - Shazia Illmi

12:55 pm: Slow voting in Delhi. Only 24% votes cast till 12 noon.

12:35 pm: Nupur Sharma, who is contesting against Arvind Kejriwal from New Delhi constituency, has alleged that AAP volunteers misbehaved with her near India Gate when she questioned them for allegedly campaigning near a poll booth.    

12:15 pm: AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal claims sources have told him that BJP has given up in many places (constituencies). He tweeted:

Sources- BJP workers have given up in many places, similar to how cong workers gave up in last elections. They are completely demoralized.

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 7, 2015

12.10 pm: Responding to Arvind Kejriwal's charge that parties have distributed money and liquor last night to influence voters, former CM Shiela Dikshit said, "Hasn't he done that that as well?", adding sarcastically, "One who is caught is the thief." 

12:06 pm: Area-wise breakup: Central Delhi - 15.75%, New Delhi - 18.8%, West Delhi - 19.54%, South-West Delhi - 21.2%, North-West Delhi - 20.45%, South Delhi - 19.55%

12:05 pm: Voting picks up as day progresses. Overall 19.59% votes have been cast till 11 am.

11:30 am: Voting picks up in Delhi. 9.25% votes cast till 10 am.

11:10 am: President Pranab Mukherjee's daughter Sharmistha, who is the Congress candidate from Greater Kailash, casts her vote.

10:40 am: BSF deployed in Booth no 7 of Trilokpuri to ensure security.

10:35 am: Kiran Bedi visits polling booths in Krishna Nagar; locals allege AAP workers intimidating people to not vote for BJP, says Bedi

10:30 am: Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung and Army Chief Dalbir Singh Suhag cast their votes.

10:25 am: I am confident, looking forward to a new Delhi. I will work till the end, we have to make Delhi a world-class city - Kiran Bedi

10:20 am: Polling percentages till 9 am: Central Delhi - 4.3%, New Delhi - 5.1%, North Delhi - 5.6%, East Delhi - 6.2%, North East Delhi - 6.6%, North West Delhi - 6.04%.

10:18 am: Rahul Gandhi ignores media, leaves from the polling station at Aurangzeb Lane.

10:17 am: Arvind Kejriwal avoids media after casting his vote, leaves from back gate, claim reports.

10:10 am: Arvind Kejriwal casts his vote at a polling booth at Khalsa Girls School, Lodhi Road.

10:05 am: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi casts his vote.

9:50 am: Slow start to voting in Delhi. 5.64% voting till 9 am.

9:45 am: People want freedom from corruption, bribery and I am hopeful they will vote accordingly. Truth will win. In the end, this will be a victory of the people - Arvind Kejriwal 

9:40 am: People should go out and vote in numbers, says Kejriwal

9:38 am: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal leaves from his residence to cast his vote at BK Dutt colony. He is the party's chief ministerial candidate and is contesting the polls from New Delhi constituency. 

9:35 am: Congress president Sonia Gandhi casts her vote, says whatever people want, it will happen.

9:20 am: We will neither take nor extend any support to AAP for government formation, says Ajay Maken after casting his vote.

8:55 am: Union Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan and his mother cast their votes in Krishna Nagar constituency in East Delhi.

8:40 am: Arvind Kejriwal tweeted: 

सब लोग नहा धोकर अपने अपने ईश को याद करके वोट डालने ज़रूर जाना :) आपकी अवश्य जीत होगी।

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 7, 2015

8:35 am: Flashing a victory sign, BJP's chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi votes at a polling booth in Neeti Bagh area of South Delhi. Delhi will vote for development, she says. 

8:34 am: Vice President Hamid Ansari arrives at Nirman Bhavan polling booth to cast his vote.

8:20 am: Today is a historic day. It's for Delhiites to vote for clean, literate and safe Delhi, says Kiran Bedi

8:00 am: Voting began across Delhi for the Assembly Election 2015 on Saturday. By all accounts it is going to be a pitched battle between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

• With pre-poll surveys indicating a tough fight, the BJP has said the election results won't be a referendum on the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre.
• A total of 673 candidates are in the fray for the 70-member Assembly. Sixty-three contestants are women.
• There are over 1.3 crore voters in Delhi out which 59 lakh are females. There are over 2.27 lakh first-time voters.
• There will be 11,763 polling stations spread across 2,530 locations. Out of these, 741 have been classified as critical while 191 others are highly critical.
• Security has been beefed up in Delhi to avoid any untoward incident during polling. While 64,000 police personnel had been deployed on poll duty during last elections, the Election Commission has not disclosed the exact number this time.
• The Delhi police is working in tandem with the police forces of Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to keep a check on these activities.
• As many as 95,000 government officials have been roped in for election duty to ensure smooth conduct of the polling process.
• The Election Commission has also taken elaborate steps which includes deployment of micro observers and installation of CCTV cameras.