New Delhi: A poll of seven exit polls has predicted 42-49 seats for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Delhi assembly election, signaling the end of Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) winning streak in the national capital after three back-to-back victories. The final results will be declared on February 8.
The poll of election experts gave 20-28 seats to the Arvind Kejriwal-led ruling AAP, which emerged victorious in three straight elections since 2013. A defeat might raise questions over the political party's future, which emerged from an anti-corruption movement in 2011.
The Congress is unlikely to spring any surprise for the third straight Assembly election with no exit poll giving it more than three seats, IANS news agency reported.
The majority mark in the 70-member Assembly is 36. In 2020, the AAP won 62 out of 70 seats with a vote share of 53.57 per cent. The BJP won eight seats with a 38.51 per cent vote share. The Congress got 4.26 per cent of votes and others polled 3.66 per cent of votes. In 2015, the AAP won 67 seats, getting 54.6 per cent vote share.
Poll prediction by People's Pulse. (Graphic courtesy: X@PulsePeoples)
Pollsters claimed that the race to distribute freebies was won by the BJP in this election and the mega increase in income tax exemption relief from Rs 7 lakh to Rs 12 lakh tilted the balance in favor of the party which was led from the front by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
An exit poll by People’s Pulse projected a sweep by the BJP with 51-60 votes while an exit poll by Matrize projected a tough fight with 35-40 seats for the BJP and 32-37 seats for the AAP. However, Mind Brink predicted 44-49 seats for the AAP giving 15-21 to the BJP and one seat to the Congress.
AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar dismissed the exit polls and predicted 58 seats for the AAP and around 12 seats for the BJP. She also alleged poll code violations and misuse of official machinery, including the Delhi Police and the Election Commission.
Another exit poll by Chanakya Strategies gave 39-44 seats to the BJP and 25-28 seats to the AAP. The poll gave the Congress 2-3 seats. An exit poll by P-Marq said that the BJP will comfortably romp home with a clear majority with 39-49 seats. The poll gave the AAP 21-31 seats. DV-Research gave 36-44 seats to the BJP, projecting 26-24 seats for the AAP and none to the Congress.
Exit polls unanimous in predicting Congress routThe Congress appears to be headed for yet another electoral disaster in Delhi, with exit polls alluding to a third consecutive wipeout for the party in Delhi. Two of six exit polls predicted zero seats for Congress in the Delhi Assembly elections. Congress's decline in Delhi began in 2015 when it lost all 70 seats, a poll result that was repeated in 2020. Once a dominant force in Delhi under the leadership of Sheila Dikshit, the Congress has struggled to regain relevance in a political landscape now dominated by the AAP and the BJP. |
