Winds of change could be blowing in Delhi if the exit polls conducted at the end of voting for the 70 Assembly seats on Wednesday hold true.
New Delhi: Winds of change could be blowing in Delhi if the exit polls conducted at the end of voting for the 70 Assembly seats on Wednesday hold true. Most exit polls predict a return of the BJP government in the national capital after 27 years. The poll of exit polls predicts the BJP to get a clear majority and win about 41 seats, while the incumbent AAP will likely win about 28 seats. Interestingly, the exit polls indicate the Congress, which was routed in the last two Delhi elections, may win a couple of seats as well.
The AAP leaders have already started accusing the BJP top leadership of “managing” the polls through the Election Commission. However, if the last-minute push by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the big Union Budget relief to the middle class in the income-tax play any role, then it will be tough for the AAP to return to power in Delhi for the third consecutive term. The Arvind Kejriwal-led party will have to sit in the Opposition for the next five years.
The Congress appears to have added to the woes of the AAP, as it may have damaged the incumbent’s prospects given the fact the two parties share the same votebank and any division of votes between the two will help the BJP get through.
At least six exit polls have predicted a BJP majority in the Delhi Assembly elections, with one other predicting a close contest between the BJP and AAP. The Peoples Pulse has predicted 51-60 seats for the BJP in Delhi and the AAP is projected to win anything between 10-19.
Contrary to most exit polls, WeePreside, a fresh startup conducting political polls and surveys, predicts a clear victory for the AAP, giving it 46-52 seats with a 49.2 per cent vote share. It has given the BJP 18-23 seats with 42.8 per cent vote share and one seat to the Congress with 5.1 per cent vote share.
Another pollster, Mind Brink, too, has predicted a big win for the AAP, with the party getting anything between 44-49 seats in the 70-member Assembly and the BJP getting 21-25 seats.
Matrize has predicted a close contest between the AAP (32-37) and the BJP (35-40).
Reacting to the exit poll predictions, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said, “We respect the exit polls…the decision will come on February 8. We believe that just as all the Bharatiya Janata Party workers have worked hard and everyone has worked together, the people of Delhi have given us their full blessings and the results will be seen on February 8”.
Predictably, the AAP rejects exit polls for underestimating the party’s performance in the Delhi polls. “I don’t think all the surveys are against us. If you look at it historically, the AAP doesn’t come to power in surveys but forms a government eventually... We are encouraged with the voting percentage, which is close to 2015’s 67 per cent,” AAP leader Anurag Dhanda said.
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