NEW DELHI, Feb 8: Exit polls for the Delhi Assembly election today predicted a big victory for Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party with some indicating that it can even repeat its 2015 landslide when it had bagged 67 seats in the 70-member House.
The India Today-Axis poll forecast 59-68 seats for the AAP and 2-11 for the BJP, while the ABP-C Voter put the Delhi’s ruling party’s tally at anywhere between 49 and 63 and that of its main rival between five to 19.
Almost all Exit Polls predicted little change in the fortunes of the Congress, which had ruled the city between 1998 and 2013 but drew a blank in the 2015 polls.
The Times Now-Ipsos exit poll predicted that Kejriwal will retain power with the AAP winning 47 seats against 23 for the BJP.
The Republic-Jan ki Baat survey gave the AAP 48-61 seats and the BJP 9-21 seats.
The TV9 Bharatvarsh-Cicero predicted 52-64 seats for the AAP and 6-16 for the BJP.
An Exit Poll put out by Neta-NewsX said the AAP may win 53-57 seats and the BJP 11-17.
The ABP’s survey said the AAP’s vote share may be a whopping 50.4 per cent against the BJP’s 36 per cent. The corresponding share for the two parties was 56 per cent and 35 per cent, according to the India Today-Axis poll.
In 2015, the AAP and the BJP had won 67 and three seats respectively. Their corresponding vote share was 54.3 and 32.3 per cent.
Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari put up a brave face amid prediction of defeat for his party, claiming it will win 48 seats and form a Government in the city.
AAP leader and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said his party is going to win with a big margin.
Meanwhile, Delhi recorded 61.46 per cent voter turnout today , down from 67.47 per cent in 2015 Assembly election, with exit polls predicting an easy win for AAP, which sought to retain power on development plank, against the BJP that ran an aggressive campaign centred around the issues of anti-CAA protests and nationalism.
The polling went off peacefully, Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh told reporters.
Over 60,000 security personnel, including Quick Response Teams, had been deployed for the election while police and paramilitary forces conducted flag marches in sensitive areas.
The voting percentage was 57.04 till 6 pm deadline, and rose to 61.46 per cent as those in queues at polling stations were allowed to vote, poll officials said, adding it may increase further.
The officials said Mustafabad (66.29 per cent), Matia Mahal (65.62 per cent) and Seelampur (64.92 per cent) — all three with large Muslim population — recorded the highest voting percentage till 5 pm.
Long queues were seen outside polling stations in areas like Jaffrabad, Jamia Nagar, Turkman Gate and Shaheen Bagh which have been witnessing protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
In the 11 districts in the national capital, northeast recorded 65.24 per cent turn out, northwest (62.23 per cent), south (59.65 per cent), central (58.57 per cent), southwest 61.57 (per cent), east (61.29 per cent), west (61.79 per cent), north (57.19 per cent), New Delhi (56.10 per cent), Shahadra (62.96 per cent) and southeast (54.89 per cent).
On a sit-in for over a month against the Citizenship Amendment Act, women protesters at Shaheen Bagh in south-east Delhi voted in batches “so that the agitation remains unaffected”.
Mehzabeen Qureshi, who returned to the protest site after voting, said, “I stayed at home to let other women in the house go out and vote. Now I have joined them here at Shaheen Bagh after voting. I voted today to secure democracy”.
Polling started at a sluggish pace and the voting percentage was low till noon. However, it picked up pace as the day grew warmer.
A senior Delhi poll official said the lower turnout compared to 67.47 per cent in the 2015 Assembly polls could be attributed to the polling day falling on a weekend as a section of people may have gone out of the city. The voting percentage was 60.6 in 2019 Lok Sabha election.
A poll officer died apparently due to a heart condition at a polling booth at Babarpur, just before the voting began, Singh said.
Congress’ Chandni Chowk candidate Alka Lamba got into an altercation with an AAP worker outside a polling booth and tried to slap the man, but missed.
Lamba alleged that the man used “very foul” and objectional language against her.
Free electricity and water, development, jobs, national security and CAA were among the key issues on the minds of Delhiites in the polls where 672 candidates were in the fray in 70 Assembly seats.
Sonakshi Ranjan (22), a first-time voter, said she opted for development while casting her vote. S C Sharma (74), a voter in Kalkaji constituency, said he voted for development and national security. (PTI)
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