AAP upbeat, BJP cautious
The stage is set for counting in the Delhi Assembly polls on Tuesday with the poll panel having made all necessary arrangements and candidates anxiously awaiting the outcome of the fiercely-contested election that has national ramifications.
Delhi vote count today
New Delhi: The stage is set for counting in the Delhi Assembly polls on Tuesday with the poll panel having made all necessary arrangements and candidates anxiously awaiting the outcome of the fiercely-contested election that has national ramifications. The mood is upbeat in Aam Aadmi Party with the exit polls saying that it will win the polls to 70-member Assembly. BJP workers appeared apprehensive due to exit poll results predicting a defeat but party leaders have expressed confidence about a comfortable victory.
The Congress appears reconciled that it will finish third and party leaders are hoping its tally is not worse than eight it won in the 2013 election. The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements for counting across 14 centres in the national capital. Counting will start at 8 am and a picture about the likely winner is expected by 10 am.
Though it is a working day for residents of the capital, the trends are expected to be closely followed on radio, television and the web. The result will have wider political ramifications, particularly for the BJP, which is the party in power at the centre and has had a good electoral run since the Lok Sabha election. Over 10,000 security personnel, including from the paramilitary forces have been guarding 20,000 electronic voting machines (EVM) which contain the votes cast in Delhi polls Saturday.
With margins expected to be slim on many seats, political parties have asked their candidates to keep a close watch on counting and immediately raise any suspicion. Volunteers of AAP have been keeping a round-the-clock watch outside some centres where EVMs have been kept.
The process of counting will be video graphed. AAP workers have planned massive celebrations ahead for anticipated victory. In its maiden election December 2013, the AAP stunningly won 28 seats compared to 31 of BJP and formed a government with Congress backing after a hung assembly.
