Exit polls predict Modi winning India’s capital after decades

NEW DELHI - India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) looks set to return to power in India’s capital after almost three decades in a tightly contested local election, some exit polls predicted.

The BJP could get more than 36 of the 70 seats in the Delhi assembly, according to forecasts by some pollsters after voting on Feb 5.

The party last governed Delhi in 1998.

The incumbent Aam Aadmi Party, which means the Common Man’s Party, has been in power in Delhi since 2015, but has suffered reputational damage in recent years due to

corruption allegations against some of its leaders.

The BJP, on the other hand, is riding a wave of popularity with middle-class Indians after making record tax cuts in the country’s annual budget last week.

While the exit polls are not definitive, a win for the BJP will show that Mr Modi’s popularity remains substantial, even though his party lost an outright majority in the national polls in 2024.

In the past four months, the BJP has won the states of Haryana and Maharashtra, marking a big comeback for the party. 

If the BJP prevails, it would mean that the party has once again “cracked the code for winning elections,” said Mr Rasheed Kidwai, a political analyst and author. “This means the defeat of regional parties.” 

The voter turnout in Delhi stood at about 60 per cent, according to the latest update from the Election Commission of India.

Official results for the capital are due to be released on Feb 8.

Exit polls have never been right about AAP, the party’s spokesperson said in a statement.

Some well-known pollsters, including Axis My India, said they will release their projections on FEb 6.

Several exit polls had got the national elections in 2024 wrong as they had predicted a landslide win for Mr Modi.

“In India, psephology is also politicised. There is little accountability,” Mr Kidwai said. BLOOMBERG