Delhi Election: Vote Counting Begins, AAP Ahead of BJP in over 50 Seats

As the counting of votes begins, early trends revealed that the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have been leading in the polls in around 51 seats while Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is ahead in 19.

Counting of votes for the election began on Tuesday morning, the Hindustan Times reported.

According to AFP, the exit polls suggested a big defeat for right-wing Prime Minister Narendra Modi while predicting another term for the AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal as millions in the Indian capital voted in the key regional election of February 8.

Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was a distant second behind the upstart Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), or Common Man's Party, led by former tax inspector Arvind Kejriwal, according to exit polls released after voting ended.

An average of nine exit polls showed Kejriwal's party was likely to win 52 out of 70 seats.

"We are winning by a huge margin," tweeted Manish Sisodia, the deputy chief minister of Delhi.

The BJP had been seeking to oust Kejriwal, the capital's chief minister whose party took a record 67 of 70 Delhi assembly seats in 2015.

While Kejriwal focused on local issues including the heavily subsidized electricity, water and healthcare he introduced, BJP leaders sought to turn the vote into a referendum on the women's protest against last year's Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Hundreds have been blocking the main road through Shaheen Bagh district since December 15 in protest against legislation that offers a fast-track to Indian nationality for persecuted religious minorities from neighboring countries but excludes Muslims.

On the eve of the elections, the BJP sent out messages telling people to vote for the party if they wanted an end to the Shaheen Bagh demonstration.

With the BJP on the back foot after falling in recent state elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, analysts said the Delhi result will be a key test of opinion on national issues.

Source: Hindustan Times