Exit polls give AAP resounding victory, zero to Cong; turnout at 61%
As the voting for much-talked about and keenly contested Delhi Assembly elections officially ended at 7.30 pm on Saturday, the exit polls by all the TV channels predicted a clean sweep for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP appears set for an impressive win against the BJP which put out all its resources to checkmate the former. However, the exit polls predict a repeat of 2015 when a nascent AAP had decimated the BJP by winning 67 seats, leaving just three for the BJP. The Congress, which had scored “zero” then losing power after 15 long years uninterrupted, appears to have repeated its pathetic performance this Delhi Assembly elections also according to the exit polls.
The high voltage elections for the 70 Assembly seats that kick-started at 8 am on Saturday with a polling percentage of just 4.33 at 9 am. According to the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) voter turnout app, the total turnout in Delhi was recorded at 61 per cent till 10.20pm, a decline over the 2015 polls when a 67.12 per cent of the voters came out to vote.
Meanwhile, as per the official data, the highest voter turnout was recorded in North East Delhi’s Mustafabad with a polling percentage of 66.29 per cent till 5 pm. Matia Mahal — in the Chandini Chowk Lok Sabha constituency — which witnessed numerous protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) bagged the second position with 65.62 per cent turnout. Another minority seat Seelampur was third with 64.92 per cent polling. The seat had also seen anti-CAA protests in December.
District wise, North-east recorded highest 50.75 per cent of voting, while New Delhi recorded 40.63 per cent, the lowest among 11 districts in Delhi.
As the clock ticked by, viewers were glued to TV sets to see the outcome of exit polls with India Today-Axis My India exit poll leading the race. India Today-Axis My India, which had predicted accurately during 2019 general elections and even during the recently held Haryana Assembly polls, predicted a landslide victory for the AAP which is expected to win 59-68 seats. “The BJP will once again remain a distant second with only 2-11 seats. The Congress will not be able to win any seat,” the exit poll results showed.
The Times Now-Ipsos exit poll predicted Kejriwal will retain his chair with the AAP winning 44 seats against 26 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 54 seats for the AAP, 15 for the BJP and one for the Congress.
Neta-India News exit poll predicts AAP: 53-57 seats, BJP: 11-17 and Congress: 0-2 seats. ABP-CVoter exit poll stated that the AAP is likely to win 49-63 seats, BJP 5-19 seats, while the Congress 0-4 seats.
Most exit poll results are consistent that the Congress, which had won zero seat in the last Assembly elections, will fare poorly this time also.
As most of the exit polls have shown a clean sweep for the AAP, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari on Saturday said that all the exit poll results will prove false. He exuded confidence that the BJP would win not lesser than 48 seats.
Polling has largely been peaceful in Delhi, which witnessed a communally charged campaigning amid anti-CAA protests, barring an incident involving Congress candidate Alka Lamba and an AAP worker in Chandni Chowk.
Kejriwal has said he is hopeful that the AAP would form Government for the third time. The people of Delhi will vote based on the works done by the AAP Government, Kejriwal said after voting along with his wife Sunita and son Pulkit at a polling booth in Civil Lines area.
The voting in Delhi started at 8 am with fewer votes but gained momentum after 3 pm. A voter turnout of 4.33 percentage was recorded at 9 pm, while it improved after 3 pm with over 41 percentage as the Delhiites queued up to cast their votes for the Assembly election on Saturday.
The polling was smooth and police maintained a strict vigil in sensitive areas, said the officials.
The polling which was scheduled to close at 6 pm extended as the people poured in long queues in last minute. In the national Capital, there are total number of 1.47 crore eligible voters to exercise their franchise in the polls that will decide the fate of 672 candidates in 70 Assembly constituencies which are seeing a triangular contest among the ruling AAP, Opposition BJP and the Congress.
When asked the poll officials about the low turnout in the first three hours, the officials said, the voting usually picks up as the day progresses. The city recorded 14.75 per cent voter turnout in the first three hours of polling.
Further, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said, “Today the poll for election to the Delhi Legislative Assembly 2020 passed off peacefully and smoothly. I particularly compliment persons with disabilities and the senior citizens who have come forward and cast their votes.” Among the 66 observers posted to keep a constant vigil and updating the Commission about the elections, three were special observers.
Further, facilities and special initiatives such as for the first time, poll body provided the facility of postal ballot for employees working in Government departments providing Essential Services and who were not able to cast their vote on poll day due to official duty on the poll day.
Also, for the first time, option of the postal ballot facility was provided to the PwD voters and 80 plus senior citizens to cast their vote at home. In total 2,429 and 488 Form 12 D was accepted from senior citizens and PwD respectively and out of that 2,257 and 429 senior citizens and PwD casted their vote through postal ballot.
Also, proper facilities such as ramps, more than 3000 wheelchairs, sign language interpreters, pick and drop facility, toilets, mobile toilets, posters and sign language videos, Braille signage were provided to assist the PwD voters. All centenarian voters were provided professional assistance and facilitation/escort service.
Braille voter slips, Braille EPIC, Braille dummy ballot sheet and voter assistance guide in Braille were provided to all visually impaired voters. About 27 Braille Experts were deployed in all 11 Districts for Certification of Master Copy of Dummy Braille Ballot Sheets at the printing press and further random checking of Dummy Braille Ballot Sheets at the concerned Districts.
Height of table:- The height of table on which the EVM machine was kept at 30” / 2.5feet, so that the wheel chairs users can access the EVM machine independently.
Moreover, the officials have seized total Rs 12.33 crores, Rs 2.83 crores worth liquor, Rs 7.78 crore worth drugs and narcotics.