LIVE | BJP set to win Delhi after 27 years, say most exit polls
Delhi records a voter turnout of 57.7 per cent till 5 pm amid allegations of bogus voting and cash distribution; 2 detained for alleged bogus voting
As voting for the Delhi Assembly elections concluded on Wednesday (February 5), almost all exit polls, barring two, have projected a BJP comeback in Delhi after 27 years.
While the AAP is predicted to give the saffron party a fight, the Congress seems nowhere in the picture, going by the exit polls. Two exit polls have predicted an AAP win.
Voter turnout
Till 5 pm on Wednesday, the Election Commission recorded a voter turnout of about 57.7 per cent across the national capital's 70 assembly constituencies.
Also read: ‘AAP-da’: Day before Delhi voting, Modi targets Kejriwal in Parliament
The ruling AAP and BJP were engaged in an intense blame game for the better part of the day, with both sides alleging voting malpractices in different constituencies. However, the Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi told news agency PTI around noon that the polling process was going on "smoothly".
Polling began at 7 am on Wednesday. Till 5 pm, the highest turnout was recorded in the Northeast district at 63.83 per cent, while the New Delhi district recorded the lowest at 54.37 per cent. Among other constituencies, Mustafabad had the highest turnout at 66.68 per cent while Karol Bagh recorded the lowest at 47.40 per cent.
Shahdara recorded a turnout of 61.35 per cent, Southwest Delhi 58.86 per cent, Northwest Delhi 58.05 per cent, North Delhi 57.24 per cent, Central Delhi district 55.24 per cent, Southeast Delhi 53.77 per cent, according to the EC data.
Also read: On poll eve, Kejriwal meets EC, claims Delhi Police intimidated voters
High-profile voters
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 the early voters.
The counting of votes will take place on Saturday (February 8).
Bypolls in Erode, Milkipur
Voting was also held for the bypolls to the Erode East Assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu and Milkipur in Uttar Pradesh. The constituencies registered about 64 and 65 per cent turnouts, respectively, by 5 pm.
In Erode East, the battle is largely confined between the ruling DMK and actor-politician Seeman’s Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK). In the Scheduled Castes (SC)-reserved Milkipur, the main contest is expected to be between Samajwadi Party’s Ajit Prasad and the BJP’s Chandrabhanu Paswan.
Live Updates
- 5 Feb 2025 2:47 PM GMT
AAP rejects exit poll results
The AAP has rejected the exit poll results for the Delhi Assembly election, saying the pollsters have “historically” underestimated its performance, while the BJP termed the predictions an assertion of people’s urge for change.
“You look at any exit poll — whether in 2013, 2015 or 2020 — the AAP was always shown getting a smaller number of seats. But it got a greater number of seats in the actual results,” AAP’s national spokesperson Reena Gupta told PTI.
She claimed that the people of Delhi have voted for the AAP in large numbers and asserted that the party is going to register a “historic” victory, with Kejriwal becoming the chief minister for a fourth time.
The poll results are scheduled to be declared on Saturday.
