Delhi polls: 'Absolutely shocking', says Kejriwal on delay in release of voter turnout figure

Questioning the "delay" by the EC in giving the final voter turnout figure for Delhi Assembly polls, the AAP on Sunday said it was suspicious and asked if the poll panel was waiting for BJP office's nod.

"Absolutely shocking. What is EC doing? Why are they not releasing poll turnout figures, several hours after polling?" Kejriwal tweeted at around 4 pm as there was no final word on the turnout by the Election Commission.

Hitting out at the Election Commission, Kejriwal's deputy and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia asked the poll panel if it was yet to receive the final voter turnout figure from the BJP office.

"BJP leaders are giving the voter turnout figures and on the other hand the Election Commission has not been able to give the final voting percentage 24 hours after polling got over," Sisodia said in a tweet in Hindi.

"EC is saying they are compiling data. What's going on? Are you waiting for the BJP office to give you the final figure?" Sisodia said.

Late in the evening, the Election Commission announced the final voting percentage in the Delhi polls as 62.59 per cent and said there was no "delay" as the returning officers were busy with scrutiny of data throughout the night to ensure its accuracy.

At a press conference earlier, AAP leader Sanjay Singh alleged that "something is cooking" and "a game is being played secretely".

"This is perhaps the first time in the 70-year-history of country that the Election Commission is not ready to release the final figure of voter turnout. The entire country and Delhi have been waiting for the polling percentage since yesterday," he said.

Final polling figure of Lok Sabha elections is released on the same day, but in case of Delhi which has just 70 assembly constituencies, the poll panel is taking so much time to come out with the voter turnout percentage.

It has been 24 hours but the poll panel is yet to release its official statement, Singh said, adding that EC should should tell why there has been so much delay.

Exit polls for the Delhi assembly election on Saturday forecast a comfortable victory for the ruling AAP.

The Times Now-Ipsos exit polls predicted that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will retain his chair with the AAP winning 44 seats against 26 for the BJP.

The Republic-Jan ki Baat survey gave the AAP 48-61 seats and the BJP 9-21 seats.

The TV9 Bharatvarsh-Cicero predicted 54 seats for the AAP, 15 for the BJP and one for the Congress.

The AAP had scored an overwhelming victory in the 2015 polls, winning 67 seats and reducing the BJP to three. Congress had drawn a blank.