New Delhi: The national capital voted today to elect a new government, after a campaign in which the BJP pulled no punches against the AAP which is eyeing another term in office.
The Congress is the third main force in the contest in which 672 candidates are in the fray for 70 Assembly seats. Over 1.47 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise. Polling began in the capital at 8 a.m.
3 minority-dominated seats witness highest voter turnout
The three minority-dominated seats of Mustafabad, Matia Mahal and Seelampur recorded the highest voter turnout in the Assembly elections on Saturday, polls officials said.
According to the data shared by the officials, Mustafabad in northeast Delhi recorded 66.29 per cent voter turnout till 5 pm.
Matia Mahal in old Delhi, the area that saw anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests, recorded a voter turnout of 65.62 per cent.
Seelampur, another minority seat in northeast Delhi, recorded 64.92 per cent voting. The seat had also seen anti-CAA protests in December.
According to Election Commission of India, the voter turnout for Delhi Assembly elections till 6 p.m. was 57.06%.
Exit polls have forecast a comfortable victory for the ruling Aam Aadmi Party despite a likely rise in tally for the BJP in the 70-member House.
The Times Now-Ipsos exit polls predict that Kejriwal will retain his chair with the AAP winning 44 seats against 26 for the BJP.
The Republic-Jan ki Baat survey gave the AAP 48-61 seats and the BJP 9-21 seats. The TV9 Bharatvarsh-Cicero predicted 54 seats for the AAP, 15 for the BJP and one for the Congress. The exit polls predicted little improvement in the fortunes of the Congress which could not bag any seat in the 2015 polls.
The AAP had scored an overwhelming victory in the 2015 polls, winning 67 seats and reducing the BJP to three.
The best figures for AAP came from ABP News-C Voter (49-63), India News-Neta (53-57), Republic TV (48-61) and TV9 Bharatvarsh-Cicero (54). The best numbers for the BJP are in the range of 24 to 28 with Times Now-Ipsos giving 26 and Sudarshan News giving 24-28. The top figure for Congress is 3 (Sudarshan News).
