NEW DELHI, Feb 7 � An estimated 67 per cent turnout was recorded today in the crucial Delhi Assembly polls where BJP and AAP were locked in a battle royale, the outcome of which may have ramifications on the national political landscape, reports PTI.
�Around 67 per cent polling was recorded. However, we are still yet to get the final figure as voting continued beyond the scheduled deadline of 6 pom,� Delhi�s Chief Electoral Officer Chandra Bhushan Kumar said.
The Assembly election, held for the second time in little over one year, has been largely a direct contest between the BJP and a resurgent AAP, which has put up a tough fight under Arvind Kejriwal�s leadership.
All the exit polls have predicted a majority for the AAP with one of them giving it as high as 53 seats in the 70-member House.
The elections are being considered significant as a victory for BJP will increase its confidence ahead of Assembly polls in Bihar later this year and in West Bengal in 2016, while a defeat may bolster the opposition.
The BJP, which is out of power in Delhi for the last 16 years, made a no-holds-barred effort to win the polls. It is being billed by many as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a description rejected by the BJP.
The Election Commission said the elections have been largely peaceful and that there was no major glitch in the electronic voting machines.
In the 2013 Assembly polls, the overall voting percentage was 66, which was an increase of around 9 per cent from 57.58 per cent in 2008.
Kejriwal, who led AAP�s spirited campaign, today exuded confidence of getting a clear mandate for his party as he said �truth will triumph� in the polls. �I am confident that AAP will win the elections and form government in Delhi,� he told PTI.
His BJP rival Kiran Bedi rejected the exit poll results carried out by various news channels even as she spoke of taking �full responsibility� if her party suffers a loss. Addressing a press conference, Bedi also thanked the BJP for reposing �faith� in her, wondering what it �saw in her�.
