With Delhi going to the polls on February 8, the Bharatiya Janata Party's fortunes seem to be improving in the national capital. Earlier, analysts had pegged a second term for the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
BJP's internal poll has given them at least 30-35 seats in New Delhi, which is half of the capital's 70 Assembly seats, Hindustan Times reported.
One of the main reasons cited for the upswing in seats, according to the report, is public sentiment against the anti-CAA protests at Shaheen Bagh, which have been going on for more than a month.
The protesters have blocked a key road in the national capital, leading to increasing traffic in several parts of the city. The 'negative perception' caused by this, BJP leaders told the newspaper, has only ended up helping the saffron party.
"It is true that now we are doing very well. People have reacted to the Shaheen Bagh mentality — Manish Sisodia’s statement that he and his party stand with Shaheen Bagh has helped us," BJP's Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari said.
Tiwari and other leaders were quoted by the newspaper as saying that the tally can rise even further in the next couple of days.
"If you ask me, then [anti-]Shaheen Bagh sentiments worked in our favour, but what also worked was us being able to tell people that the AAP government had denied the people of Delhi the Ayushman Bharat (medical insurance scheme) offered by the Modi government," South Delhi Member of Parliament (MP) Ramesh Bidhuri said.
"Our tally will increase, and we will overtake AAP in the next three or four days," Bidhuri told the newspaper.
According to the report, Home Minister Amit Shah, who has been addressing rallies in Delhi for the past couple of days, told partymen that he has received good response from most segments.
Not all from within the BJP are as confident, however. A party leader told the newspaper that it might be difficult to turn the large chunk of voters who are impressed with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. "There are still about 20-25 percent undecided voters. This is a huge number and we are working to turn them towards us," a party leader said.
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