After a long time Delhi citizens who are usually apathetic to elections, came out to vote on Wednesday. The voting percentage at 66.6 % which is 1.19 crore voters for 70 seats is closer to what happened in 1993. This could mean a vote for change. Rajasthan also recorded a high percentage of voter turn-out at 78% and poll pundits believe that the BJP under Vasundhara Raje will return to power this time around in that State. This time the elections are set against the backdrop of rising prices and corruption charges at the UPA Government. A high voter turn-out means bad news for the Congress. So enthusiastic were voters in Delhi that the Election Commission had to delay the closure of some booths by three and a half hours in an unprecedented step.
For the first time there is a tough three-cornered contest with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) acting as the spoiler both for the Congress and BJP. Incumbent chief minister Sheila Dikshit has delivered on several fronts and has reached out to the most depressed sections of her electorate with pro-poor schemes. However, Dikshit could suffer from the public backlash against the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre. As such there is no anti-incumbency wave against Sheila Dikshit but two post poll surveys suggest that Dikshit, who led the Congress Party to three straight wins in the city, was trailing Arvind Kejriwal of AAP in New Delhi constituency, with BJP’s Vijender Gupta close on her heels. According to the exit poll done by ORG for India Today group, Kejriwal, with 36% vote share, was leading in the high profile constituency. Dikshit, the face of Congress in Delhi, came second with 31%. The ABP News-Nielsen poll, too, said Dikshit may lose to Kejriwal, as AAP was likely to bag all three seats in central Delhi. The findings mirror the perceived groundswell for AAP as well as the debacle staring at Congress. If the results match the findings, New Delhi constituency will be a great upset for Sheila Dikshit. The ORG survey predicts a clear victory for BJP with 41 seats in the 70-member assembly ahead of 20 for Congress and six to AAP. A large section of homeless migrants, particularly auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers have clearly been vocal about their support for Kejriwal’s AAP. If the turn out from this section far outweighs the genteel Congress voters then Delhi might see a change of guard after the votes are counted on December 8