New Delhi, February 10 – “All the very best Delhiites,” said AAP leader and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal moments before counting of votes began in Delhi on Tuesday.
“All the very best Delhiites. Do pray. Prayers are very powerful,” tweeted the Aam Aadmi Party chief who is expected to make a comeback as chief minister exactly a year after he resigned after 49 days in power.
At 9 am, the AAP was comfortably ahead of the BJP by a 27-11 margin, while the Congress was barely in the race with three leads. “This may be a historic day! The juggernaut likely to halt. David likely to overcome Goliath. Hope lives again,” senior AAP leader Yogendra Yadav tweeted.
According to the exit polls, the AAP was likely to get between 31 and a staggering 54 seats while the BJP could bag 17 to 35 seats. The Congress, which ruled Delhi for 15 years till December 2013, would win at most four seats, they said.
Meanwhile, sweets were distributed at Kiran Bedi’s residence even before the counting of votes began on Tuesday. There was no explanation from the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate over why her supporters were celebrating even as the results predicted a defeat of her party.
“Delhi stands alone,” she said when asked if the Delhi verdict is a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity. A victory for AAP will also prove to be a huge setback for Modi, who has helped the BJP win a series of elections since his landslide victory in Lok Sabha elections last year. A total of 673 candidates are in the fray for the 70-member Delhi Assembly.
-INDIA TODAY
