Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest in the excise policy scam was expected to generate sympathy for the AAP chief and help the INDIA (alliance) win votes in Delhi. However, the trends available as of 1.30 pm show the opposition alliance is set to be routed by the incumbent NDA in the national capital.
Delhi has seven Lok Sabha seats and the BJP is ahead in all of these. If BJP goes on to win all seven seats in final results, the outcome would have a bearing on the Aam Aadmi Party ahead of the Assembly Elections next year. Its pitch of seeking votes for the party and the opposition alliance post Kejriwal's arrest through the theme "Jail ka jawaab vote se" would have completely failed.
If we look at the lead margins at this hour, all seven BJP candidates are leading by healthy margins, the lowest being 17,000 plus votes and the highest margin being over 1,10,000 votes.
All eyes were on the contest between incumbent Manoj Tiwari and Congress's Kanhaiya Kumar in North-East Delhi and there as well, the BJP is set to stamp its authority. Tiwari is leading by over 90,000 votes.
Assembly Elections are due in Delhi next year and the BJP's Lok Sabha performance will provide a boost to the party's chances here, where it has been out of power for over 2 decades now. For the AAP, it will be a time to reflect on its performance and make any course-corrections, if required.
