Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 8: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut expressed his views on the early trends emerging from the Delhi Assembly elections, highlighting what he perceives as a sharp competition between the BJP and opposition parties. Raut suggested that had Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) joined forces, the outcome could have been very different.
Raut emphasized that both Congress and AAP share the same primary political opponent in the BJP, but instead of forming an alliance, the two parties chose to contest separately. He remarked, “Had Congress and AAP been together, the results may have been different… The political opponent of AAP and Congress is BJP. Both of them fought to keep BJP from coming to power, but they fought individually. If they had been together, BJP’s defeat must have been confirmed in the first hour (of counting).”
In addition to commenting on the competition, Raut leveled serious allegations against the Election Commission (EC) and the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre. He accused the EC of neglecting concerns related to voter list fraud and pointed out a “Maharashtra pattern” being implemented in Delhi. He claimed that the EC had failed to act on these issues, even as fraudulence in voter lists and other irregularities continued to surface. “The Election Commission was sitting with its eyes closed. The 39 lakh votes that have increased in Maharashtra in five months will now shift to Bihar, some will go to Delhi,” he stated.
Raut also hinted at a larger conspiracy to influence the Delhi elections, claiming that the Prime Minister, who has failed to win Delhi in the past, may be attempting to secure a victory in his final years in politics. He alleged that efforts are being made “to win Delhi by going to any extent.” Furthermore, he accused the BJP of using forced tactics to sway votes, questioning the legitimacy of the election process and saying, “You think people are voting for BJP, nobody wants to vote for BJP, this is forced voting.”
Despite Raut’s concerns, early trends indicate that the BJP is leading in most seats in the Delhi Assembly elections. BJP has crossed the majority mark with early results showing them ahead on 45 seats, while AAP is leading on 25 seats. The majority mark required to form a government in Delhi is 36 seats.
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, a senior leader of the National Conference, which is part of the opposition INDIA bloc, took to X to comment on the early trends. Sharing a popular meme, he appeared to take a jab at both Congress and AAP as they trailed behind the BJP.
In the latest updates, BJP’s Parvesh Verma is leading in the New Delhi seat against AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal by a margin of 225 votes. AAP’s Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj is trailing behind BJP’s Shikha Roy in the Greater Kailash seat by a margin of 4,440 votes. Delhi Chief Minister Atishi is also trailing BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri on the Kalkaji seat by a margin of 2,800 votes.
The voter turnout for the February 5 elections was recorded at 60.54 percent, with polling taking place for the 70-member Delhi Assembly.