Delhi Assembly elections: No liquor in national capital on these dates due to polls

The elections for the 70 Assembly constituencies in Delhi will be held on February 5 and the results will be declared on February 8. The BJP, out of power in Delhi since 1998, has pulled all the stops to win the polls and replace the AAP.

The Delhi government banned the sales of liquor in the national capital due to upcoming assembly elections. The Delhi Excise Department ordered the closure of liquor shops and other establishments serving alcohol in the city from February 3 to 5 - the voting day - and on February 8 when the results of the elections would be announced.

A gazette notification issued recently by the Delhi excise commissioner declared "dry days" under Excise Rules-2010 for various excise licenses on the day of voting to the 70-member Delhi Assembly and the counting day.

Dry days in Delhi in two phases

"It is ordered that dry days shall be observed (during 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for conclusion of the poll) from 6 pm of February 3 to 6 pm of 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 and establishments selling or serving liquor, will be permitted to sell or serve liquor to anyone whosoever," said the notification.

It added that non-proprietary clubs, star hotels, restaurants among others, and hotels run by anyone, even if they are issued different categories of licenses for possession and supply of liquor, should also not be permitted to serve liquor.

Meanwhile, the national capital is witnessing a high-octane poll campaign led by three main political parties - AAP, BJP and Congress. The BJP out of power in Delhi since 1998 is making all efforts to upstage the ruling AAP that has dominated the assembly elections since 2015. The AAP romped home winning 67 and 62 seats, respectively in the last two assembly polls in 2015 and 2020. As far as Congress is concerned the party is struggling to regain its lost political ground in the national capital as it failed to open an account in the last two assembly elections in Delhi.