Delhi assembly election 2020: Will wait for ‘exact polls’, says BJP as exit polls predict Arvind Kejriwal’s third term in Delhi

Five exit polls predicted a comfortable victory for chief minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), showing it to be winning anything between 47 seats (Times Now-Ipsos poll) to 68 seats (India Today-Axis poll) in the assembly of 70 members.

After exits polls projected the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) winning big in the Delhi assembly elections, several BJP leaders pointed out these predictions have failed in the past and one should wait till February 11 for the results to be declared.

Five exit polls predicted a comfortable victory for chief minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), showing it to be winning anything between 47 seats (Times Now-Ipsos poll) to 68 seats (India Today-Axis poll) in the assembly of 70 members.

The BJP, according to most polls, was seen as improving its performance from the last assembly elections, when it won just three seats. The lowest estimate for the party was two seats (India Today-Axis) and the highest 23 (Times Now-Ipsos).

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All exit polls suggested the Congress again come a distant third. It would fail to secure any seat, according to two polls, or, at best, winning three seats (ABP News-CVoter).

Results of elections in India can be extremely hard to predict and there have been instances where pollsters have been spectacularly off the mark. The official results will be out on February 11.

BJP chief JP Nadda met of all seven Delhi MPs and senior party leaders to assess the party’s performance late on Saturday.

Union ministers Prakash Javadekar, Hardeep Singh Puri, Nityanand Rai, BJP organisational general secretary BL Santhosh and Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari attended the meeting.

Union minister Prakash Javadekar said on Saturday his party will wait for the “exact polls” and stressed that the BJP will come to power.

“There will be a huge difference in exit polls and the final results. We will wait for exact polls. Exit polls had failed in May elections (17th Lok Sabha polls) as well,” Javadekar was quoted as saying by ANI.

“We have seen ground reality and we have got a good response. We will come into power on February 11,” he added.

Shyam Jaju, Delhi BJP in-charge, also said the same thing. “Exit polls have proved to be wrong in the past. This time, too, the result will surprise everyone,” he said.

BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi expressed confidence her party will perform well and also claimed that Arvind Kejriwal will not retain his assembly seat.

“Exit polls have taken the analysis of two booths per assembly constituency. This analysis is based just on 0.12 or 0.15% considering that there are over 13,000 booths. Second, this analysis is based till 4 or 5pm after which 11 to 15% votes have been polled,” she said, according to ANI.

“So, we think that our voter comes out of home after lunch. So, these exit polls do not include that 11-15 per cent votes,” she said.

Lekhi pointed out to the exit polls during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

“Exit polls are not the exact poll. I want to give an example that in 2019 the exit polls were giving 220 seats to the NDA whereas the BJP alone won 303 seats. I am sure the BJP will perform well,” she said.

“I am saying Kejriwal is losing this Assembly seat. I do think so and I am saying that with complete faith. BJP is winning it,” the BJP leader said.

The president of the BJP’s Delhi unit president Manoj Tiwari too dissed the exit polls, saying exit poll results would be proven wrong.

Several other BJP leaders have also rejected the exit polls.

“All these exit polls are going to be proven wrong,” Kapil Mishra, the BJP candidate from Model Town in north Delhi, said in an unusually short tweet without elaborating.

“Final result will come on 11 Feb. So indulge yourself with the exit polls but don’t lose sleep over it…” the BJP’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya said in a tweet with the hashtag that his party’s symbol, lotus, will bloom in Delhi.

BJP lawmaker Parvesh Verma, who was twice gagged by the Election Commission for his hate speeches during the election campaign, has projected that his party will bag 50 seats.

Polling in Delhi took place on Saturday after a bitter election campaign and there was a dip in voter turnout compared to the 2015 assembly polls when a record 67.47% voters cast their ballot.

The Election Commission said the turnout was 61.7%—a provisional figure subject to change when the final figures will be released on Sunday.

The AAP had registered a landslide victory in 2015 elections getting 67 of 70 seats. The BJP had won three seats while Congress had drawn a blank.