Delhi Assembly Election Results Today: The counting of votes for Delhi’s Assembly elections will take place on Saturday, determining whether the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will secure a fourth term or if the BJP will return to power after 27 years. The Congress is hoping for some improvement after failing to win any seats in the last two elections.
Several exit polls suggest the BJP has an edge over the ruling AAP, which has governed since 2015. The counting will begin at 8 AM with early trends expected soon after. According to ECI data, the approximate voter turnout has been 60.42 per cent till 11 30 PM on February 5.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva has predicted his party will win nearly 50 seats, while AAP has rejected the exit poll results, insisting it will form the government again with Arvind Kejriwal as chief minister.
Delhi’s Chief Electoral Officer, Alice Vaz, said 5,000 personnel will be deployed for the counting process. To ensure fairness, five Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) will be randomly selected from each constituency for verification.
In a developing controversy, Delhi’s Lt Governor VK Saxena ordered an anti-corruption branch probe into AAP’s allegations that the BJP tried to poach its candidates by offering Rs 15 crore and a ministerial position. AAP has accused the BJP of using exit polls to create a false sense of victory while attempting to sway its candidates. The BJP has demanded that AAP retract its accusations or face legal action.
Earlier, Kejriwal met with AAP candidates and asserted his party will win, claiming the opposition is using exit polls to apply psychological pressure. Senior AAP leader Gopal Rai said AAP expects to win over 50 seats, with a tight contest on 7-8 others.
In 2015, AAP dominated the Delhi Assembly elections, winning 67 of 70 seats, and in 2020, it secured 62 seats. A victory for AAP would solidify Kejriwal’s position as Delhi’s leader and boost his national political profile. If the BJP wins, it would return to power in Delhi after nearly three decades and end AAP’s grip on the city.
The Congress, which ruled Delhi for 15 years until 2013, is hoping to recover after failing to secure a seat in the past two elections.