8.2.20

Capital casts its vote today

At the end of a highly polarised campaign, Delhi casts its vote today on 70 seats, of which only three were held by the outgoing Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. The contest clearly remains between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party, which is seeking re-election based purely on its performance, and the BJP, which is seeking a mandate based on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image. Pollsters who have conducted opinion polls and are preparing for the exit polls told Mirror that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s governance and Modi’s key legislations like the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and abrogation of Article 370 are the main talking points among voters, who are likely to vote on these issues rather than the slew of freebies offered by all three political parties in the fray.

For the first time, the AAP moved from a team of amateur party workers to a professional team, handling its election campaign as it hired poll strategist Prashant Kishore to design the entire campaign and strategy. In a visible departure from his usual combative style, Kejriwal throughout his campaign this time did not even mention Modi and instead sought votes based on the performance of his government.

The BJP, on the other hand, led a highly polarised campaign with its star campaigners, such as Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, MoS Home Anurag Thakur and MP Parvesh Verma, making controversial comments on Shaheen Bagh that finally led to notices and a temporary ban on campaign imposed by the Election Commission.

Pollsters working on the opinion and exit polls told Mirror that the Congress party’s prospects look bleak in the absence of a strong leader. It must be noted that in the absence of Dikshit, the party continues to seek votes in her name and does not have any prominent faces in the running for the top post.

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