The AAP on Wednesday rejected exit poll results for the Delhi Assembly election, saying the pollsters have "historically" underestimated its performance, while the BJP termed the predictions an assertion of people's urge for change.
As voting for the 70-member Delhi Assembly concluded at 6 pm on Wednesday, most exit polls predicted an edge to the BJP over the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
AAP's national spokesperson Reena Gupta told PTI that exit polls have historically underestimated the Arvind Kejriwal-led party but in actual results, the party gains several times more than these projections.
"You look at any exit poll -- whether in 2013, 2015 or 2020 -- the AAP was always shown getting a smaller number of seats. But it got a greater number of seats in the actual results," Gupta said.
She said that the people of Delhi have voted for AAP in large numbers and claimed that the party was going to win with a "historic" margin, with Kejriwal becoming the chief minister for a fourth time.
The poll results are scheduled to be declared on Saturday.
Exit polls are projections made by election-survey agencies, based on interviews of voters as they come out of polling booths after casting their votes. These may vary widely from the actual results.
The Matrize exit poll has predicted that the BJP-led NDA may get 35-40 seats, while the AAP is projected to get 32 to 37 seats. The survey has given Congress zero to one seat.
According to an exit poll by the People's Pulse, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is likely to bag 51 to 60 seats while the AAP might get 10 to 19 seats. It has also claimed that the Congress will not be able to open its account.
Based on the People's Insight exit poll, the NDA is set to win between 40 to 44 seats, AAP with 25 to 29, and Congress to have zero or one seat.
P-Marq exit poll estimated 39-49 seats to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with its alliance and 21-31 AAP seats, as well as the Congress at a low of zero or one.
The JVC exit poll has said that the BJP and its allies will get 39 to 45 seats, the AAP 22 to 31 seats, and the Congress zero to two seats.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the party respects the exit poll predictions. "I believe the people of Delhi made up their minds long ago that they wanted change," he added.
Delhiites want a corruption-free government. BJP workers campaigned with great dedication in the run-up to the election to fight against corruption in the city, Sachdeva said.
He exuded confidence that the AAP is on its way out of power and that the saffron party is going to form its government in Delhi after a gap of more than 25 years.
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