Delhi Assembly elections: 24 hours to go, can BJP scale Kejri-Wal?

New Delhi: With campaigning for the February 7 Delhi polls coming to a close on Thursday evening, the battle to win control of the National Capital Territory is all set to go down to the wire. The last day witnessed high-octane campaigning, major protests, roadshows and rallies by the heavyweights.

Trouble broke out in the morning as, amid the rallies and padayatras by politicians, a large number of policemen swooped down on Christian groups who were protesting against attacks on churches and the “silence” and “inaction” of the Centre. It continued to virtually rain opinion polls in Delhi. While a few days back a few surveys had given an edge to the AAP, another set of polls on Thursday predicted a BJP victory.

Earlier, after the surveys had predicted an AAP victory, BJP leaders including PM Narendra Modi, had taken a swipe at all opinion polls. On Thursday, however, a fre-sh set of polls, including one by RDI, gave 41-45 seats to the BJP and 21-25 seats to the AAP.

Both the BJP and AAP have pulled in all available resources. A lot is at stake for the BJP. An electoral defeat in Delhi will deal a huge blow to its mascot, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and derail his poll winning streak. Besides this, a victory for Arvind Kejriwal and his AAP will revitalise the anti-Modi forces across the country, with Mr Kejriwal emerging as the rallying point for the Opposition.

On Thursday, Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee extended support to the AAP, asking voters in Delhi to support the AAP.

Shatrughan Sinha all praise for Kejriwal

A constant target for BJP during the campaigning for the Delhi Assembly polls, Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday came in for some praise from none other than its senior leader Shatrughan Sinha who said that the AAP convener was a man with a “good image”.

However, Mr Sinha also said that Kiran Bedi, the saffron party’s chief ministerial candidate for the Delhi elections, too, has a “clean” image as well as a grasp of administrative matters.

“Yesterday, somebody asked me whether one can see the influence of Kejriwal or AAP... Obviously, the power of Mr Kejriwal is evident which is why you are asking me the question,” Mr Sinha said.

Opining that the February 7 poll would be a two-cornered fight between Ms Bedi on the one hand and Mr Kejriwal on the other, he said, “Mr Bedi has a clean image, a good person, she has been a good official and she had a grasp on the administration while, on the other side, Mr Kejriwal, whose image has been good too is a decent person.”