As Delhi voted for the Assembly elections, politicians across the spectrum remained upbeat about their chances. Both the ruling Aam Aadmi Party and the BJP were optimistic that this was going to be their year.
Even as all exit polls predicted an easy victory for the AAP, BJP leaders dismissed the predictions. To quote Amit Malviya, "Final result will come on 11 Feb. So indulge yourself with the exit polls but don’t lose sleep over it..."
Well, now that we do have the final results coming in, it does not seem to be lending much credibility to the BJP's denouncement denouncement of all exit polls, as well as their conviction that the party would win '45 plus seats' in the National Capital Territory.
Take a look at some of the highlights:
1. In the run-up to the Delhi polls, Kapil Mishra seemed to have become controversy's favourite child. From chanting 'Desh Ke Gaddaron Ko, Goli Maro Saalo Ko' at a rally to accusing accusing Kejriwal of undertaking "Jinnah politics" and suggesting that the AAP rename itself as "Muslim League" -- he had a lot to say.
on Tuesday, Twitter erupted with jokes and comments on Mishra's Jan 23 tweet proclaiming that "India and Pakistan will compete on the streets of Delhi on 8 February".
Twitter agreed.
They also added that 'India won'.
But Mishra did not restrain himself to a single tweet or comment. And so, we have several options for your perusal. For example, until Monday he had continued to claim that the BJP would be forming the Delhi government.
Needless to say, this post did not age well either.
Another post claiming that all the exit polls (which had predicted an AAP victory) were about to be proven wrong too makes the list.
On Monday, he had another prediction to make.
"The people's mandate is with the BJP. We know the reality as we have worked on the ground. I must say, there is nothing to be surprised if Kejriwal gets defeated from New Delhi constituency," Mishra said while speaking to ANI.
We could go on, but there are far more people to cover. You see, Mishra was not alone is denouncing the exit polls or claiming that the BJP would be forming the government.
And now, he is not alone, as Twitterati mock the soothsayers who seemed to have underestimated AAP.
2. Delhi state BJP chief Manoj Tiwari for example, had predicted a 48 seat win that'd have enabled them to return to power in Delhi after over two decades.
Many on Twitter took a jibe at the post, where the automatic translation to English proclaims that the party will get 4 seats.
Here, we feel compelled to add that Mishra had also urged people to save his tweet for future reference.
When it comes to Manoj Tiwari, we'd like to leave you with a final video. This particular clip features Tiwari being questioned about his tweets after the results began to be declared and AAP's victory seemed imminent.
3. Soon after the exit polls predicted an AAP win, BJP IT cell chief, Amit Malviya took to Twitter to say that one shouldn't "lose sleep" over the exit polls.
The next day, stating that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was "crying over EVMs", he said that people should "brace up for more wailing and chest beating that will follow when the results come in".
4. Though rather mild in comparison to some of the statements in this article, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar too had opined that the BJP would come to power.
"There will be a huge difference in exit polls and the final results. We will wait for exact polls. Exit polls had failed in May elections (17th Lok Sabha polls) as well," Javadekar had told ANI.
"We have seen ground reality and we have got a good response. We will come into power on February 11," he added.
5. Kejriwal's direct competitor from the New Delhi constituency, BJP candidate Sunil Yadav was rather certain about his victory.
"I guarantee my victory and Kejriwal's defeat. If result proved otherwise, I will not contest any elections again in my life," Yadav had earlier said.
Now, it remains to be seen what he will do next.
"Arvind Kejriwal knows he is losing his election that is why he has started preparing the ground to blame EVMs on February 11," he said in another tweet.
6. Expressing a similar sentiment BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi on Saturday dismissed exit polls and predicted that Kejriwal would lose his New Delhi seat.
"I am saying Kejriwal is losing this Assembly seat. I do think so and I am saying that with complete faith. BJP is winning it," she had said while talking to ANI.
"Exit Polls are not the exact poll. I want to give an example that in 2019, exit polls were giving 220 seats to NDA whereas BJP alone won 303 seats. I am sure BJP will perform well," she had added.
7. We saved one of the parties most influential personalities for the last. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had taken to Twitter even as he took part in campaign rallies in the national capital to say that Delhi was "tired of false promises, appeasement, and anarchy, it now wants development".
"Seeing the support for BJP in Delhi makes it clear that on February 11 BJP will form the government by winning more than 45 seats in Delhi," he had tweeted on the last day of campaigning for the Assembly elections.
Not just the BJP, the Congress, which for the second time failed to open its account, too had remained optimistic about its chances. While the party had not been quite as confident, there were a few statements that must be mentioned.
"Let others celebrate the exit poll results. I am confident that the results on February 11 will startle everyone," Mukesh Sharma the chief spokesperson of Delhi Congress was quoted as saying by PTI.
Delhi unit president Subhash Chopra said that the party "rejected the exit poll results".
Congress leader PC Chacko while remaining non-committal to the idea of a Congress-AAP alliance, said that he thought the surveys were not correct.
"Congress is likely to do better than what surveys predict," he had told ANI.
(With inputs from agencies)
