AAP brushes off exit polls: ‘We’ve defied predictions before, we’ll do it again!'

New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson Anurag Dhanda on Wednesday strongly dismissed exit poll predictions that suggested the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would come to power in Delhi. Dhanda alleged that the exit polls were "fixed," claiming that several friends from survey agencies had shared this information with him.

Addressing the exit polls, which have shown a close contest between AAP and BJP, Dhanda recalled the party's previous experiences with exit polls, which he argued had consistently been inaccurate in the past. "In 2013, exit polls predicted we would win only 8 seats, but we received 28. In 2015, polls forecasted 40-50 seats, but we ended up with 67. In 2020, exit polls predicted 45 seats, but we secured 62. Even in 2022, they predicted 57 seats for us, but we garnered 92," he pointed out.

AAP's national spokesperson Reena Gupta told PTI that exit polls have historically underestimated the Arvind Kejriwal-led party but in actual results, the party gains several times more than these projections.

"You look at any exit poll -- whether in 2013, 2015 or 2020 -- the AAP was always shown getting a smaller number of seats. But it got a greater number of seats in the actual results," Gupta said.

She claimed that the people of Delhi have voted for the AAP in large numbers and asserted that the party is going to register a "historic" victory, with Kejriwal becoming the chief minister for a fourth time.

Dhanda's comments come at a time when the party is gearing up for the election results to be announced on February 8. 

Here is what the exit polls say:

The P-MARQ exit poll predicts a BJP win with 39-49 seats, while AAP is expected to secure 21-31 seats, and Congress could win 0-1 seats. Matrize suggests a closer race with BJP at 35-40 seats, AAP at 32-37, and Congress with one seat. People's Pulse projects BJP winning 51-60 seats, AAP 10-19, and no seats for Congress. People's Insight gives BJP 40-44 seats, AAP 25-29, and 0-1 for Congress.

JVC and Chanakya Strategies forecast similar outcomes, with BJP in the lead and Congress struggling. However, WeePreside's exit poll indicates a strong performance for AAP, with 46-52 seats, compared to BJP's 18-23 and Congress's 0-1 seat.