Delhi votes in test for Modi amid protests
Exit polls have forecast victory for the ruling party and Kejriwal is all likely to retain his CM’s post
New Delhi, India - Millions in the Indian capital voted on Saturday in a regional election seen as a key test for rightwing Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Exit polls have forecast a comfortable victory for the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi assembly election.
The BJP is seeking to oust Arvind Kejriwal, the capital’s chief minister, whose AAP took a record 67 of 70 Delhi assembly seats in 2015.
A poll of ten exit polls predicts 52 seats for AAP, 17 for the BJP and one for the Congress party, The Times of India daily reported.
Indian news channels reported over 60 per cent voter turnout in the election.
Long lines formed outside New Delhi polling stations in the morning amid heavy security as a weeks-old protest by women against a new citizenship law continued to cause chaos for commuters.
In an often vitriolic election campaign, Modi and other leaders of his party have slammed opponents of the law who deem it anti-Muslim.
While Kejriwal has focused on local issues including the heavily subsidised electricity, water and healthcare he introduced, the BJP leaders have sought to turn the vote into a referendum on the women’s protest. Hundreds have been blocking a 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 neighbouring 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 rally.
With the BJP on the back foot after failing in state elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, analysts said the Delhi result will be a key test of opinion on national issues. Near the women’s protest site, food company senior executive Maroof Ahmad said the ‘BJP has only two agendas - Shaheen Bagh and Pakistan. They have nothing else to talk about’.
‘GDP is falling, the economy is in a mess and they are only bothered about temples and mosques’, he added.
But others lined up behind Modi. In the Jangpura neighbourhood, flower garlands and balloons decorated the polling station as financial consultant Vinod Kumar came to vote.
“I am not biased towards any political party but I don’t endorse the Shaheen Bagh protest. Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru believed in and supported the citizenship law,” he said referring to India’s revered independence leaders.
Thousands of extra security officers were on duty for the election with a large contingent at five polling stations near the Shaheen Bagh protest.