LIVE: Counting for Delhi assembly elections underway; Will exit polls hold true for Arvind Kejriwal?

Counting of votes for the 8 February Delhi assembly polls has begun with the spotlight firmly on Arvind Kejriwal. All exit polls have predicted a big win for Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party even though the BJP has made a counterclaim to form the next government in the national capital.

According to the Election Commission, more than 62.59% people had voted on 8 February. The polling percentage was significantly lower than 67.5% recorded five years ago. In 2015, the AAP had won 67 out of 70 seats, while the BJP had won three seats.

According to Times Now-Ipsos exit poll, the AAP was expected to win 44 in the 70-seat assembly. The survey gave the BJP 26 seats and zero to the Congress. Republic TV said that the AAP was likely to win between 48 and 61 seats, while the BJP’s tally was likely to be between 9 and 21. It gave Congress one seat.

India TV’s prediction was exactly the same as that of Times Now.

India News-Neta poll said that the AAP was set to win between 53 and 57 seats, while the BJP may end up winning 11-17 seats. The Congress, according to its prediction was expected to win 0-2 seats.

TV9 Bharatvarsh-Cicero also predicted 54 seats for the Kejriwal’s party, 15 seats for the BJP and just 1for the Congress.

Live Updates:

• #Bihar Chief Minister & JD-U chief #NitishKumar on Tuesday just said “public is supreme”, when asked to comment on the Delhi assembly poll results. The JD-U contested the Delhi assembly polls in alliance with the #BJP and had fielded two candidates. (IANS)
• My best wishes & congratulations to Mr Kejriwal and the AAP on winning the Delhi Assembly elections, tweets Congress leader Rahul Gandhi

My best wishes & congratulations to Mr Kejriwal and the AAP on winning the Delhi Assembly elections.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 11, 2020

• AAP’s Imran Hussain (pic 1) wins from Ballimaran seat with a margin of 36,172 votes. Saurabh Bhardwaj (pic 2) wins from Greater Kailash with a margin of 16,809 votes. Raj Kumari Dhillon from Hari Nagar with a margin of 20,131 votes. (ANI)
• AAP’s Amanatullah Khan wins Delhi’s Okhla seat by nearly 70,000 votes, defeats BJP’s Braham Singh. (PTI)

Sandeep Dikshit: Some senior leaders of the party only insulted & badmouthed Sheila ji in last 6-7 yrs,even when we were in power. If you do this on one hand, playing a role in the defeat of Congress, and later claim credits for her work, then who will believe you? #DelhiResults https://t.co/TpaxoRdrYR

— ANI (@ANI) February 11, 2020

• Akhilesh Pati Tripathi, AAP candidate from Model Town: This is the victory of development & people of Delhi. It is a reply to people who wanted to divide the country&disturb communal harmony. It is the victory of Arvind Kejriwal’s dream of a beautiful Delhi. (ANI)
• The ruling Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) impending victory in #DelhiAssemblypolls is the result of solid and visible development works carried out at the ground level for the people of the national capital, the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi allies in Maharashtra said on Tuesday. (IANS)
• Parvesh Verma, BJP MP on #DelhiResults: I accept the result. We will work hard and give a better performance in the next elections. If this election would have been on Education and Development, then Education Minister (Manish Sisodia) would not have been trailing.(ANI)

• #Congress leader and #Punjab Cabinet minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot on Tuesday said it was #BJP‘s defeat in #Delhi, not the #Congress‘. “We were zero earlier also and this time too we are zero. So it’s not our defeat. It is the defeat of the BJP,” Dharamsot told the media. (IANS)
• With its looming defeat in Delhi, #BJP-led #NDA has now lost power in six states in the last two years. The BJP, which had won just three seats in Delhi last time, was expecting a much better performance this time. (IANS)
• Lt Governor Anil Baijal dissolves Delhi Legislative Assembly. (PTI)

BJP MP from East Delhi, Gautam Gambhir: We accept #DelhiElectionResults and congratulate Arvind Kejriwal & the people of Delhi. We tried our best but, probably, we could not convince the people of the state. I hope Delhi develops under the chief ministership of Arvind Kejriwal. (ANI)

• Prashant Kishor ‘thanks’ Delhi for protecting ‘soul of India’

Thank you Delhi for standing up to protect the soul of India!

— Prashant Kishor (@PrashantKishor) February 11, 2020

• West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on #DelhiElectionResults: I have congratulated Arvind Kejriwal. People have rejected BJP. Only development will work, CAA, NRC and NPR will be rejected. (ANI)
• Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Congress performance in #DelhiElection2020: We were already aware of it. The question is – what happened to BJP which was making big claims? (ANI)
• Subhash Chopra, Delhi Congress Chief: I take responsibility for the party’s performance, we will analyse the factors behind this. Reason for the drop in our vote percentage is politics of polarization by both BJP and AAP. (ANI)
• Aam Aadmi Party candidate from Patparganj assembly seat Manish Sisodia is trailing behind BJP’s Ravi Negi by 1576 votes, after fifth round of counting.
• BJP candidate from Hari Nagar assembly seat Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga is trailing
• As per the trends released by the EC, the AAP is ahead in 56 seats, while BJP is leading in 14 seats. The Congress is yet to open its account
• Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot leading by 85 votes from Najafgarh constituency. (PTI)
• AAP candidate from Model Town, Akhilesh Pati Tripathi, who is leading over BJP’s Kapil Mishra: I thank everyone who has expressed their confidence in Arvind Kejriwal. People want a govt that takes care of its citizens. People of Delhi have voted for development; I thank them. (ANI)
• BJP candidate Braham Singh leading by 194 votes from Delhi’s Okhla constituency, AAP’s Amanatullah Khan trailing #DelhiResults
• Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury: Everyone knew that Aam Aadmi Party will return to power for the third time. Congress’s defeat will not send a good message. The victory of AAP against the Bharatiya Janata Party & its communal agenda is significant. (ANI)
• Everyone knew that Aam Aadmi Party will return to power for the third time. Congress’s defeat will not send a good message. The victory of AAP against the Bharatiya Janata Party & its communal agenda is significant. (ANI)
• As per the trends released by the EC, the AAP is ahead in 50 seats, while BJP is leading in 19 seats.
• Alka Lamba of Congress polls just 152 votes compared to 5997 votes polled by AAP candidate after round 1. #DelhiPolls2020
• Delhi BJP Chief Manoj Tiwari: Trends indicate that there is a gap between AAP-BJP, there is still time. We are hopeful. Whatever the outcome, being the State Chief I am responsible. (ANI)
• Delhi CM and Aam Aadmi Party Chief Arvind Kejriwal leading by a margin of 2026 votes from New Delhi constituency; Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vijender Gupta trailing by 1172 votes from Rohini. (ANI)
• As per the trends released by the EC, the AAP is ahead in 26 seats, while BJP is leading in 14 seats.
• Aam Aadmi Party’s Saurabh Bhardwaj: People of Delhi have accepted our governance model. At the counting centre, right now, I can see I am getting double the votes as compared to the BJP candidate. (ANI)
• Official EC trends: Aam Aadmi Party leading on 13 seats and Bharatiya Janata Party leading on 11 seats.
• AAP’s sitting MLA Akhilesh Pati Tripathi maintains lead against BJP’s Kapil Mishra from Model Town constituency. (NDTV)
• Delhi elections results 2020: AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal leads from New Delhi seat
• Aam Aadmi Party’s Raghuvinder Shokeen leading from Nangloi Jat constituency, after first round of counting of votes. (ANI)
• Congress stalwarts were trailing in minority-dominated seats in the early trends on Tuesday as counting of #votes for the February 8 #DelhiAssemblyelections was underway. #ParvezHashmi was trailing from Okhla where #Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was ahead. (IANS)
• #BJP chief #ManojTiwari on Tuesday said that his party was winning and that preparations for celebration have started in the party office. Tiwari told the media: “I am not nervous, preparations for celebrations have started in the BJP office.” (IANS)
• Sanjay Singh, AAP MP on early trends: Wait for the final result, we are going to register a massive win. (ANI)
• Sanjeev Kumar, Returning officer, AC-55 Trilokpuri: There are total 13 rounds of counting. Right now, postal ballots are being counted. The first round of counting will be completed by around 9 am. First trends will emerge around 10am. (ANI)
• Initial trends have trickled in from Delhi Cantonment, Ballimaran and Burari where the number of postal ballots are low. Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was leading at Ballimaran when leads began. (IANS)
• Counting of votes for Delhi Assembly election begins