‘Confident that we will come back to power in Delhi’: AAP

AAP leaders express confidence in returning to power despite exit polls predicting a BJP win, citing past successes and their welfare-focused agenda.

As polling came to an end, the two Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) functionaries breathed a sigh of relief. Wednesday was a long, tiring day for the pair, but they knew they just had the next couple of days to recharge their batteries — they expressed confidence that their party is set to return to power in the Capital.

Delhi chief minister Atishi offers prayers at Kalkaji temple on Wednesday. (HT Photo)

Dismissing exit poll— which have all predicted a sweeping win for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — a senior AAP leader said he is confident that party chief Arvind Kejriwal is set to return as the chief minister.

“We fought the elections on the basis of what work we have done to improve the life of people — providing free electricity, water, excellent schools, healthcare infrastructure, and other welfare schemes — and what work we are going to do in the next five years. The BJP had no vision and no agenda, it based its election on hooliganism,” the leader said, on condition of anonymity.

“In 2013 and 2015, exit polls had shown that the AAP was losing the elections, but we formed the government both times, including a historic mandate in 2015. In 2020 too most of the exit polls were proved wrong, and so will the exit polls of 2025,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Kejriwal and other party leaders were constantly monitoring the 2,696 polling locations. The party deployed over 130,000 volunteers across all 13,766 polling stations for activities ranging from booth management, manning the party’s tables set up outside the polling locations to help voters, managing party offices in all 70 constituencies, assisting candidates, and manning the central war room at the AAP headquarters.

An AAP functionary said Kejriwal monitored the on-ground election management from the war room, which was in constant touch with the party’s 70 candidates, giving them periodic instructions on the basis of the feedback from the constituencies.

A second AAP leader said the candidates spent their day in their constituencies, taking stock of the ongoing polling from the on-ground workers, visiting the polling locations to meet party workers, and resolving incidents of “hooliganism by BJP workers” by taking such matters up with the authorities concerned.