Delhi polls: Maken ready to take responsibility for Congress loss

With the exit polls for the Delhi legislative assembly elections painting a grim picture for the Congress, the party's chief ministerial candidate Ajay Maken on Monday stated that he was ready to take full responsibility if the predictions of a massive loss for the grand old party were to come true.

"If the predictions of the exit polls are correct, then it is a matter of great concern to us. I maintain that if we lose, only I will be responsible for the loss because as campaign committee chief, I was the face of the party in the city. As of now, we are waiting for the results," Maken told ANI.

Maken further said that the exit polls seemed to indicate that the people of the national capital wanted to give another chance to Arvind Kejriwal, around a year after the Aam Aadmi chief stepped down after serving as the Delhi chief minister for 49 days.

"In 2013, the people's mandate stated that Arvind Kejriwal be made the chief minister. Yes, the BJP might have been victorious in more seats, but that is also because there was some confusion in the election symbols. Even at that time, the people wanted Kejriwal as the chief minister. Now, I think that the people want Kejriwal to stay in power for the full five years," he said.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP may return to power once again in the national capital, according to five of seven exit polls.

The exit polls have predicted the second place for the Bharatiya Janata Party while the Congress has been placed at a distant third.

A voter turnout of 67.08 percent was recorded in the polling for the 70-member Delhi Assembly. A total of 673 candidates are in the fray this time.

The counting of the votes is scheduled to take place on February 10.