A total of 164 candidates are contesting in the Delhi elections. (File)
The high-pitched poll campaign in the national capital that ended today had all the elements of a political soap opera.
It witnessed an attack on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, acrimonious exchanges between the Aam Aadmi Party and the BJP over allegations of horse-trading, rivals jabbing at one another over alleged discrepancies in affidavits and a candidate of the ruling party in Delhi breaking down during a press conference.
As many as 164 candidates, including 18 women, are contesting for the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi which goes to polls on Sunday. It is expected to be three-cornered fight involving the BJP, AAP and the Congress in all the seats.
Over 400 polling booths have been identified as critical, for which special security measures have been put in place.
The campaign which got off to a slow start as alliance talks between the AAP and Congress lingered on till the last days of nomination, gained momentum over the last fortnight with senior leaders drawing huge crowds at mega rallies and road shows in the national capital.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a massive rally at the Ramlila Maidan while Congress President Rahul Gandhi addressed two public meetings. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also organised two road shows in the city.
BSP supremo Mayawati, BJP president Amit Shah and his party's Chief Ministers Yogi Adityanath, Vijay Rupani, Pema Khandu, Sarbananda Sonowal, Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Nitin Gadkari and Giriraj Singh campaigned for their party candidates in Delhi.
The campaign also saw cine stars -- Hema Malini, Sunny Deol, Prakash Raj, Swara Bhaskar -- garnering support for the candidates.
AAP candidates Atishi and Raghav Chadha sought rejection of nomination papers of their BJP rivals Gautam Gambhir and Ramesh Bidhuri, respectively. Poll officers were also hard-pressed as several Model Code of Conduct violations were reported.
In a security breach, Chief Minister Kejriwal was slapped by a man during a road show in Moti Nagar. Allegations of horse trading flew thick and fast as two AAP MLAs -- Anil Bajpai and Devinder Sehrawat -- crossed over to the BJP.
The AAP and the BJP sparred over a derogatory pamphlet that targeted Delhi's ruling party candidate Atishi.
The AAP alleged her rival Gautam Gambhir was behind it, a charge the former cricketer has denied.
Campaigning stops 48 hours before the beginning of voting hours. Known as the silence period, it is aimed at giving the electorate a chance to think about whom to vote for.