BJP concedes AAP divided anti-incumbency votes

New Delhi: As the election result day nears, BJP, which had till now dismissed Aam Aadmi Party as an also-ran, on Friday conceded that the rookie would have deprived it of the anti-incumbency votes to some extent in the capital.

"Yes, there is no doubt about the presence of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and they have made this contest triangular. But whose chances have been dented by them, only time will tell," BJP state unit chief Vijay Goel told media persons here, ahead of counting of votes on Sunday.

Asked about AAP gaining anti-incumbency votes at the cost of the main opposition party, Goel agreed that the Aam Aadmi party has to some extent "broken into anti-incumbency votes which used to come to BJP."

The state unit chief, however, was confident that his party will get a clear majority in the elections.

"People want a change from the 15 years of misgovernance of Congress. They want relief from problems like electricity, water, inflation and corruption. People want change and it is only the BJP which can give them that change," he said.

Questioned about what was on the voters' mind when he or she went out to vote, Goel said, "The biggest issue was security, financial security and the one related to law and order."

He also claimed that his party would get a clear majority. Asked about the expected numbers of seats, Goel said, "clear majority begins with 36 seats" in the 70-seat assembly.

BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate Harsh Vardhan refrained from making any political comment but on sustained questioning about the expected results, he replied in a lighter vein, "We have studied throughout the year, the exams were good and we expect good results."