Indian PM Modi’s Party Poised To Win Delhi Election

By Shakir Husain

NEW DELHI, Feb 8 (Bernama) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is poised for a big win in Delhi's local assembly elections.

The vote counting trends on Saturday showed the BJP winning more than 45 seats in the 70-member legislature against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Modi's party returns to power in the state after 27 years since it was defeated by the Indian National Congress, which ruled the territory between 1998 and 2013.

Delhi state, which unlike other Indian states enjoys only limited authority, has been governed by the AAP since 2015.

The main fight was between the BJP and the APP, with the Congress party relegated to a distant third position in the share of vote.

A little over 60 per cent of Delhi's 15.5 million electorate cast their votes on Wednesday.

Delhi's voters were inundated with promises of freebies and welfare schemes by the parties during a noisy election campaign.

The high-stakes election also witnessed allegations of intimidation and vote irregularities.

-- BERNAMA