After a months-long, intense campaigning period for the Delhi Assembly Elections, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal took a break on Wednesday night to relax with his family and party leaders.
As the fate of the election hung in the balance, Kejriwal spent a peaceful evening enjoying some local delicacies with his loved ones.
The evening began with a satisfying meal of chole bhature at a Connaught Place restaurant, followed by a sweet treat of ice cream at Khan Market. Despite the significant political activity around him, Kejriwal made time for a family outing to unwind after the campaign frenzy.
Interestingly, the party did not release any visuals from the outing, leaving the moment a private one for the AAP leader. While Delhi awaited the results of the high-stakes election, several exit polls have emerged, adding to the anticipation and tension surrounding the voting process.
These polls have predicted that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could be on the verge of ending its long drought of power in Delhi, with predictions of the party overcoming the AAP's bid for a third consecutive term in office.
Despite these projections, there are two exit polls that favour the AAP, predicting a victory for Kejriwal’s party in what has been described as a closely contested election. The final verdict will be delivered on February 8, when the votes are set to be counted.
In the meantime, the AAP, which has held power in Delhi for the last decade, remains optimistic, dismissing the exit polls as unreliable. Kejriwal himself had earlier asserted that the AAP would secure at least 55 seats in the 70-member Delhi Assembly.
The party has also pointed out that exit polls have historically underestimated its performance, citing past elections in 2013, 2015, and 2020, when the AAP exceeded expectations despite poor predictions.
Reena Gupta, the national spokesperson for AAP, made a statement to reinforce this point, saying, "You look at any exit poll, whether in 2013, 2015, or 2020 – the AAP was always shown getting a smaller number of seats.
But it got a greater number of seats in the actual results." This confidence from the AAP leadership has been clear, as they continue to assert their belief in securing a victory.
On the other hand, the BJP has taken the exit poll predictions as an indication of the people’s desire for change in Delhi's political landscape.
According to various exit polls, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) could potentially secure a range of seats from 35 to 60, while the AAP is projected to get a lower number.
Specifically, the Matrize exit poll has predicted that the BJP-led NDA could secure between 35 and 40 seats, with the AAP winning 32 to 37 seats. The Congress, however, is not expected to make significant progress, with projections showing them possibly winning zero to one seat.
The People's Pulse exit poll has painted an even bleaker picture for the AAP, with predictions of only 10 to 19 seats, and zero to one seat for Congress.
Other exit polls, like the People's Insight and P-Marq, have similarly favoured the BJP, with the AAP's seat share varying between 21 to 31 and 25 to 29 seats in different surveys.
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