As Delhi voted to elect its new government on Wednesday, most of the exit polls have predicted an edge for the Bharatiya Janata Party over the ruling Aam Aadmi Party which is seeking a third consecutive term.
The saffron party, which had been out of power for 27 years in the national capital, is likely to get 39-45 seats, according to the JVC polls. This pollster has predicted 22-31 seats for the AAP and 0-2 seats for the Congress.
In the 70-member House, the number of seats required for a simple majority is 36. The AAP currently has 62 MLAs, the BJP has eight, and the Congress none.
According to Matriz pollsters, the BJP is likely to pocket 35-40 seats while the AAP's number may reduce to 32-37. The survey gave Congress 0-1 seats.
The P-Marq survey has predicted 39-49 seats for the saffron party, 21-31 seats for the AAP and 0-1 for the Congress.
According to NDTV Poll of Polls, the BJP is projected to bag 43 seats while the AAP's seats could be reduced to 26.
The People's Insight exit poll has predicted 40-44 seats for the BJP and 25-29 seats for the AAP. This pollster, too, has given 0-1 seats for the Congress.
The People's Pulse exit polls says the BJP is likely to get 51 to 60 seats, while the AAP may get just 10-19 seats. The Congress, it claims, will not be able to open its account.
Exit polls are projections made by survey agencies based on interviews of voters as they come out after casting their votes. These may vary widely from the actual results.
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The polling was held at 13,766 stations across the state to decide the fate of 699 candidates. The votes will be counted on February 8.
As per the Election Commission data, 57.70 per cent of voter turnout was recorded till 5 pm, which is less than the 63 per cent recorded in 2020. Polling began at 7 am and continued until 6 pm.
President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar, Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, Union ministers S Jaishankar and Hardeep Singh Puri, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal were among those who cast their votes.
The AAP, which is seeking a third consecutive term, relied mostly on its governance record and welfare schemes. The BJP, on the other hand, is making a determined push to reclaim the capital after more than 25 years.
The Congress, which ruled Delhi for 15 years until 2013, is striving to stage a comeback after failing to win a single seat in the last two elections.