Kejriwal says exit poll prediction for Gujarat 'positive sign'

New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday congratulated the people of Delhi after exit polls showed a clean sweep by the AAP in the municipal elections and also said the prediction for the party in Gujarat is a "positive sign". But the Aam Aadmi Party will wait for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) election results to be declared before thanking the people of the national capital, he said.

Three exit polls on Monday predicted a clear win for the AAP in the MCD polls, with the BJP emerging a distant second. The counting of votes for the elections to the 250-ward civic body will be taken up on Wednesday. "I would like to congratulate the citizens of Delhi. I was also following these exit polls and it looks like it is a good result for the Aam Aadmi Party in the MCD. But we will wait for the final results to come in tomorrow before thanking the people.

"We hope that the results tomorrow will be in line with the exit poll predictions and that the people of Delhi and the country go on to support the AAP in the future as well," Kejriwal said. Exit polls predicted that the BJP will return for a seventh consecutive term in Gujarat. The party is expected to get a big mandate in the range of 117-151 seats in the 182-member assembly, the Congress 16-51 seats and the AAP 2-13 seats, according to the exit polls. The majority mark in the Gujarat Assembly is 92. The AAP had run a high-decibel campaign in Gujarat with Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann holding roadshows and addressing rallies to woo voters. "The results predicted by the exit polls in Gujarat are also positive. A new party has entered Gujarat. If we manage to win 15-20 per cent of votes, then I believe that it is a very positive sign. Till now, everyone was talking about how Gujarat is a stronghold of the BJP," he said. Kejriwal's deputy Manish Sisodia claimed the AAP is going to sweep the MCD elections, asserting that the public is once again going to choose Kejriwal's "staunch honesty" and "politics of good governance" over the BJP's lies. Sisodia accused the BJP of deceiving the public and "conspiring" every day against Kejriwal.

"They tried to defame him, levelled false allegations against me and tried to defame Satyendar Jain but the people voted for work, not the BJP's lies. The people of Delhi have proved and given this message to the whole country that the Aam Aadmi Party is a staunch honest party and all the allegations levelled against us are just lies," the deputy chief minister said. Sisodia added that the BJP brought many of its chief ministers and Union ministers to advertise their "lies and false allegations" against Kejriwal. "Their ministers kept abusing CM Arvind Kejriwal and levelled several allegations. The people of Delhi know about the work that CM Arvind Kejriwal has done for them and that's why by voting the AAP to power in the MCD, the people have spoken their hearts," he said. On the Gujarat poll predictions, Sisodia said the AAP is going to make a grand entry in Gujarat.