Nikita Yadav
BBC News, Delhi
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More than 60% of the 15 million registered Delhi voters voted on Wednesday
Votes should be counted in the capital of India Delhi, where the Bharatiya Janata (BJP) party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi hopes to organize a return after 27 years.
Most of the exit polls, following the vote on Wednesday predicted an absolute majority for the BJP, giving them more than 35 seats in the Legislative Assembly of 70 members.
More than 60% of eligible voters voted in the survey, according to data published by the India Electoral Commission.
Winning Delhi is a prestigious battle for the two frontrunners – the BJP and the party in place Aam Aadmi – given its symbolic importance as a capital.
The city, a territory administered by the federal government, has been governed by the AAP since 2013, the voters supporting its solid report of Welfarism. But the party has recently been involved in allegations of corruption – which they denied.
For the BJP, the security of Delhi represents more than a simple electoral success – it would mark a crucial establishment in the national capital.
The party, which was a recent electoral success in other states, such as the Maharashtra and the Chhattisgarh, launched resources in the Delhi campaign, with Modi as well as the Minister of the Interior Amit Shah attending events .
Meanwhile, most of the exit polls, which are conducted by asking questions to a sample of voters just after leaving the polling station, predict less than 35 seats for the AAP.
The Congress, the main opposition party at the national level, is also in the race, but the polls indicate a dark perspective.
The party ruled Delhi from 1998 to 2013, but was ousted by allegations of corruption which saw the voters turn to the AAP. He has not managed to make a brand since.
However, analysts warn that the exit polls, published by various press agencies, have often been wrong in the past and are not impartial.
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Modi’s BJP hopes to return to Delhi after 27 years
Delhi has a single governance structure.
The main decisions related to public order, police and land are taken by Lieutenant Governor (LG) which is appointed by the federal government. State legislature manages issues, including education, health and public services.
This division has often caused friction between the federal government and the legislature of states when managed by rival parties, analysts said.
The structure of power is also a reason why the electoral campaign in Delhi is more focused on well-being than on political or identity problems, which play a more important role in the elections elsewhere in the country.
The AAP and BJP campaigns have both promised improvements to public schools and free health services as well as cash documents to women.
Meanwhile, the BJP also hoped for an increase in the federal budget of last week, which reduced the income tax of the employee middle class, a key voting block in the capital.
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The AAP of former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal (L) hopes to cling to power in the capital
Experts say that even if the results of the exit survey are not the last word, they show that Modi remains popular among Indian voters, despite the loss of its outright majority in the general elections of last year.
A large part of the BJP campaign has targeted the head of the AAP, Arvind Kejriwal, an anti-Greffe activist, who was imprisoned in a corruption case relating to a policy of sale of alcohol now last year .
Kejriwal, who denies all the allegations and was released on bond in September, accused the party of Modi of producing a “political vendetta” against him and AAP, accused that the BJP denies.
The conditions of release under the surety of the Supreme Court prohibit him to enter the office of the chief minister or to sign files. Kejriwal resigned from his days after his release from prison and there are questions as to if he could resume the role.
A subject, however, remained firmly out of the agenda during the bitter campaign of weeks – the lasting crisis of atmospheric pollution of Delhi.
Despite being an urgent problem from year to year, none of the party leaders or their manifests were aimed at dangerous air which hides the city by more than 30 million for a large part of the year.
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