Who is Set to CAPTURE the Capital? Pre-poll Survey Results Here

As per an opinion poll conducted by Times Now and market research firm, Ipsos, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is all set to sweep the upcoming Delhi assembly elections with 54-60 of the union territory’s 70 seats.

A tally of 10-14 for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and 0-2 for the Congress was also predicted. The vote-share for the AAP, BJP and Congress will hover around 52 per cent, 34 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively, as per the poll.

A total of 54-60 will mark a fall for the AAP over its 2015 sweep of 67 seats. In that election, the remaining three seats were won by the BJP, while the Congress ended up with zero.

The poll also found that 71 per cent of Delhiites favour the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which seeks to ease citizenship for non-Muslim minorities from Muslim-majority Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

As many as 51 per cent of Delhiites believe the anti-CAA protest at Shaheen Bagh is “unjustified”, further as per the survey. Notably, Shaheen Bagh protests has seen polarising statements, especially from BJP leaders including “people protesting at Shaheen Bagh will barge into your houses and rape”.  Primarily led by Muslim women, protests at Shaheen Bagh have been continuing for over 50 days now.

BJP leaders have tainted Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as being ‘anti-nationalist’ and ‘terrorist’.

However, the poll is also seen as not converting votes in BJP’s favour despite Delhiites being in agreement with CAA or calling the Shaheen Bagh protests “unjustified”.

Many Delhiites also voiced out the opinion that AAP has maintained communal harmony.

The poll also had questions on unemployability, with 47 per cent of the respondents trusting the AAP to do the needful while 37 per cent felt BJP was better, if tasked with the job. However, the poll also ruled out employability as being a huge factor in election results.