Exit polls predict another sweep for BJP

With polling for the Municipal Corporations elections coming to an end on Sunday, exit polls my media houses predicted a sweep for the Bharatiya Janata Party, with the Aam Aadmi party finishing second and Congress coming at the third position.

A survey by the Axis India Today exit poll for the MCD elections 2017 predicted 202-220 seats for the BJP and 23 to 35 seats for AAP. The survey has put Congress in the third spot with 19 to 31 seats. According to ABP News exit polls, BJP is set to secure 218, AAP 24 and Congress 22 wards.

The exit polls by the ABP news showcased a clean and clear win for the BJP. The survey predicted that BJP would win 83 seats in the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, while the AAP and the Congress would win nine seats each. "BJP is likely to win 88 seats in the North MCD. Congress seven seats and the AAP six," stated the survey.

The survey also showed BJP gaining the East Delhi Municipal Corporation with 47 seats, while predicting AAP to be runner-up with nine seats and Congress finishing third with six wards. Both Congress and AAP had claimed to have done internal surveys and predicted their respective wins in the MCD.

While the Congress had claimed that it would win 208 seats in the MCD, the AAP had claimed 218 seats. With the polling coming to an end on Sunday evening, the results are scheduled on April 26.

Meanwhile, the Delhi State Election Commission on Sunday asked two major news channels to explain their reasons for the telecast of the survey they made ahead of the MCD polls, in which they had projected a big win for BJP.

State Election Commissioner S K Srivastava reportedly said that he has also asked the two channels, ABP News and Times Now, not to broadcast the survey news again.

"We took a suo moto action against them as one could see it being played on TV. We did not have to wait for anyone to come with a complaint to us. We have demanded an explanation from the channels for the survey... it was a breach of the Model Code of Conduct," said Srivastava.

The results of the survey were telecast on the eve of the Capital's Municipal elections. Sources in the Congress said that the party had complained to the SEC about the matter.