ABP Exit Poll HIGHLIGHTS | Kejriwal To Return As Delhi CM; BJP Improves Tally, But Can't Defenestrate AAP

Background

Delhi Election 2020: After a month's long blistering episodes of campaign, rallies and sharp statements by politicians, the national capital on today will vote to elect a new government on the backdrop of ruling Aam Aadmi Party's attempt to bag a second term and Bharatiya Janata Party's aim to end its 22-year long exile in Delhi. Unfortunately, Congress turns out to be the third main force in the contest in which 672 candidates are in the fray for 70 assembly seats.

According to Election Commission data, over 1.47 crore voters will eligible to exercise their franchise in the national capital today. The polling will begin at 8 am and will end at 6 pm. As per the notification issued by the poll pane, electors can carry smartphones at polling stations in 11 assembly constituencies for accessing QR codes from the voters' helpline app in case they have not brought the voters' slip to the booth.

The bitterly fought high-octane campaign that lasted for over three weeks ended at 6 pm on Thursday, just 38 hours before the start of voting for the high-stakes Delhi assembly election.

Getting poll ready.... distribution of EVM, VVPAT and other requisite material to polling personnel on duty. Glimpses from Kamla Nehru College centre, New Delhi.#ElectionCommissionOfIndia #ECI #DelhiAssemblyElections2020 #दिल्लीविधानसभाचुनाव2020 pic.twitter.com/KCfOe4px7E

— Election Commission of India #SVEEP (@ECISVEEP) February 7, 2020

Triangular Battle between AAP, BJP And The Congress

Looking at the political scenario in Delhi, it appears to be that the ruling AAP is going into the Assembly polls with the hope to repeat its stellar performance of the last legislative elections, while the BJP, which bagged all seven seats here in the Lok Sabha election in May 2019, will be aiming at expanding its vote share in the national capital.

Nevertheless, even Congress is seeking to better its performance than last time when it did not bag any seat in the Assembly polls, but improved its vote share in 2019 polls. The AAP had got 54.3 per cent votes in the 2015 Assembly polls, while the BJP secured 32 per cent and the Congress bagged just 9.6 per cent of the total votes polled.

The BJP mounted its one of the most aggressive campaigns in the Delhi Assembly polls so far, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah leading the saffron charge fuelled by its planks of Hindutva and nationalism and its strident opposition to anti-CAA protest in Shaheen Bagh.

On the other hand, the AAP tried to hard sell its development agenda, while the Congress sought to showcase its achievements during its 15-year rule under late Sheila Dikshit from 1998 to 2013.

Shaheen Bagh & The Security Arrangements

Riding on tech-savvy elements like QR codes and mobile apps, poll authorities have geared up for the polls, making tight security arrangements across the national capital and keeping an extra vigil in Shaheen Bagh and other sensitive polling areas.

In view of the ongoing anti-CAA protests in Shaheen Bagh, the Delhi CEO Office has put all five polling stations in the area under the "critical" category, and confidence-building measures are continuously being undertaken to reassure voters, officials said.

Shaheen Bagh falls in the Okhla assembly constituency. The area has become the epicentre of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the national capital and the agitation has been thrust by political parties into a poll issue.

The police have deployed around 40,000 security personnel, 19,000 home guards and 190 companies of Central Armed Police Forces to ensure smooth conduct of the polls.

About The Electorates:

Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh told news agency PTI that 1,47,86,382 people are eligible to vote in the Delhi polls, and 2,32,815 are in the age group of 18-19.

Voters in various categories include males (81,05,236), females (66,80,277), service voters (11,608), third gender voters (869), and senior citizens (aged 80 and above) voters (2,04,830), officials said.

Arrangements By Election Commission:

There are 13,750 polling booths, besides one auxiliary booth, located at 2,689 locations across Delhi. "As far as critical polling stations are concerned, there are 516 locations and 3,704 booths in that category," Singh said.

Besides police security, polling stations falling in the "critical category" get paramilitary cover. Activities will be monitored through webcasting, Singh said. Police and election machinery are on "extra vigil" and assessing the situation all the time across the national capital, he added.

Security personnel kept guard at strong rooms storing EVMs. Election staff carried EVMs and other polling material to booths under tight supervision in all constituencies. Poll authorities had met protesters recently and encouraged them to vote on the polling day.

(With inputs from PTI)

19:19 PM (IST)  •  08 Feb 2020

ABP Exit Poll | AAP Set To Clinch Delhi Assembly Polls With Thumping Majority

As the voting in national capital for 2020 Assembly elections came to an end, ABP News along with C-Voter conduced an Exit Poll to gauge the mood of people ahead of the final showdown on February 11.

As per the Exit Poll, Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is predicted to sweep the Delhi Assembly Elections 2020 once again with a whopping majority.

As per the findings of the survey, AAP is projected to return to power in the national capital by bagging seats ranging between 49-63 in the 70-member assembly, crushing both Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress (INC) by a huge margin.

The survey predicts that the saffron party is likely to clinch somewhere around 5 to 19 seats in the national capital. This, however, is a decent improvement for BJP in Delhi compared to the measly 3 seats it was able to pocket in 2015 Assembly Elections.

The Exit Poll shows a marginal improvement for the party compared to 2015 Assembly polls as this time around it appears to win seats in the range between 0-4 in the national capital.

19:10 PM (IST)  •  08 Feb 2020

ABP News Exit Poll | AAP To Bag 9 Out of 12 Seats In New Delhi Constituency

As per ABP News-CVoter Exit Poll, Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party is likely to clinch New Delhi constituency by winning seats ranging between 7-9 followed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which is expected to get somewhere around 1-3 seats.

Findings of the survey says Congress is likely to draw a blank in New Delhi constituency.