Delhi elections 2025: Did exit polls get it right in 2020? Here's what pollsters predicted last time

Arvind Kejriwal, PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi (File)

The campaigning for the high voltage Delhi elections drew to a close on Monday evening and all eyes are now on the voting day on February 5. The national capital is witnessing a keen triangular contest between the ruling AAP, and its rivals BJP and Congress.

The voting for the elections will conclude at 6pm on February 5 and the action will immediately shift to the exit poll predictions before the final results on February 8.

The exit poll predictions will give insights into the minds of the Delhi voters and will be closely watched since the contest in Delhi has been tighter than the previous two occasions.

Did exit polls get it right in 2020 Delhi elections?

In the previous elections, all exit polls predicted a cruising victory for AAP in the elections.

Most pollsters gave AAP over 50 seats in the 70-member assembly.

Among these, India Today-Axis My India predicted the highest seat share for AAP with a range of 59-68.

Jan Ki Baat, News X-Neta and India news Nation predicted 55 seats for the Kejriwal-led party.

Meanwhile, Times Now predicted 47 seats for AAP and gave 23 seats to BJP.

None of the pollsters predicted a close fight in the national capital and were unanimous in forecasting an AAP sweep.

The results were largely in line with the predictions with AAP winning 62 seats and BJP bagging just eight.

Notably, the 2020 exit poll predictions were much closer to the actual results than the 2015 predictions.

In 2015, AAP won a historic 67 out of 70 seats in Delhi while most exit polls predicted around 40 seats for the party.

Three-way clash

The elections to the 70-member assembly are a battle of prestige for the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is eyeing a third consecutive term in the national capital, and the opposition BJP, which is on a momentum run following handsome victories in Haryana and Maharashtra polls.

Congress, which is part of the broader INDIA bloc along with AAP at the national level, is also in the fray as it looks to reclaim its past glory in Delhi - the city it once dominated.

With 699 candidates contesting across 70 constituencies, the Delhi elections are being seen as a referendum on AAP's governance model as well as future of the BJP and Congress in Delhi for the next five years.

The results on February 8 will determine whether AAP secures a third consecutive term or if BJP and Congress can make a significant comeback in the national capital.