The BJP is set to return to power in Delhi after 27 years, according to exit polls results declared on news channels on Wednesday after voting ended.
According to election survey agency People’s Insight, the BJP is set to win 40-44 seats and the incumbent AAP of Arvind Kejriwal will win 25-29 out of the total 70 Assembly seats.
Consumer research platform P-Marq, predicted 39 to 49 seats for the BJP and 21 to 31 seats for the AAP. Another firm, People’s Pulse, said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party may win 51 to 60 seats, while AAP may grab 10 to 19.
Opinion survey and market research firm Matrize predicted 35 to 40 seats with 46 per cent vote share for the BJP and 32-37 seats with 44 per cent vote share for Kejriwal’s party.
Yet another firm, JVC, said the BJP would win 39-45 seats and AAP may win 22-31 seats.
Chanakya Strategies gave 39 to 44 seats to the BJP and 25-28 seats to AAP.
The Congress isn’t a factor, as per the exit polls, and may win a maximum of three seats.
Most of the exit polls in 2015 and 2020 had predicted an AAP victory in Delhi, but failed to predict the landslide in its favour.
It must be noted that exit polls in India have a fair share of turning out incorrect or way off the mark. The recent Lok Sabha elections are a good example.
Many commentators pointed out that the recent budgetary announcements of tax cuts aimed at India’s middle class would have an impact on the election.
Around half of Delhi's population fits into that middle-class bracket, per estimates.
Piyush Goyal, Union minister of commerce & industry, had said on February 1 that the Union Budget will help the voters in Delhi.
"Government employees live in large numbers in Delhi,” he was quoted as saying. “There are many units of business, small and medium businesses, high-end businesses and the MSME sector in Delhi, so the people of Delhi will especially benefit from this. The middle class and salaried earners live in such large numbers in Delhi. There are people from the army, central government employees, and state government employees….I think every citizen of Delhi will celebrate today..."
