Congress candidate Sandeep Dikshit on Thursday criticized the exit polls conducted after the Delhi Assembly Elections, claiming they had inaccurately portrayed the results and underestimated the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). While most exit polls had predicted a comeback for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after a 27-year gap, Dikshit argued that the surveys did not reflect the true dynamics of the election.
Speaking to ANI, Dikshit stated that the Congress party would have garnered at least 17-18 percent of the vote share. “The exit polls suggest that the BJP may form the government, but they have severely underestimated the AAP. They portrayed the AAP as very weak, but I don’t think their condition is as bad as some are predicting,” he said.
Expressing his disappointment, Dikshit added, “I believe Congress would have easily received 17-18 percent of the votes. We’ll know the truth on February 8. Exit polls can be right at times, but they are often wrong as well. They aren’t presenting an accurate picture of the Delhi election results.”
The exit polls released after the voting on Wednesday varied significantly in their predictions of BJP’s possible victory margin. One poll projected that the BJP could win 51-60 out of the 70 assembly seats in Delhi, while others predicted an AAP win.
The P-MARQ exit poll forecast that BJP would win 39-49 seats, AAP would secure 21-31 seats, and Congress would win 0-1 seat. Matrize’s exit poll predicted a close contest, with BJP likely to win 35-40 seats, AAP securing 32-37, and Congress winning just one seat.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Pulse exit poll suggested that BJP could win 51-60 seats, while AAP might secure only 10-19 seats, with Congress failing to win any seats. People’s Insight predicted a BJP victory in 40-44 seats, AAP in 25-29, and Congress with 0-1 seat.
However, the WeePreside exit poll forecasted that AAP could win 46-52 seats, with BJP securing 18-23 seats and Congress potentially winning 0-1 seat.
The final vote count will take place on February 8. AAP has had a strong hold on the Delhi Assembly in recent years, winning 62 out of 70 seats in the 2020 elections, while the BJP managed to secure only 8 seats. Congress, which ruled Delhi for 15 years, has struggled in recent elections, failing to win any seats in the past two assembly elections.