oppn parties Delhi: Kejriwal Poised For Another Innings As Chief Minister

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  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
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Delhi: Kejriwal Poised For Another Innings As Chief Minister

By Linus Garg
First publised on 2020-02-08 19:32:14

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.

There was an uncharacteristically low voter turnout in the Delhi elections today. Only about 55% of the people cast their votes. What does this mean? Low voter turnout is generally a sign of confidence in the incumbent government whereas the opposite signifies anti-incumbency. When people come out to vote in large numbers, they want to change the government, says conventional wisdom. But is it true for Delhi? And what reference point does one take to analyze this? The 2015 state elections or the 2017 local body elections or the 2019 general elections?

In the 2015 elections, 67.47% of the electorate voted, which was a record then. The AAP swept the elections, getting 67 of the 70 seats. There was a 54% turnout in the 2017 local body elections in which the BJP upset the AAP applecart. The 2019 Lok Sabha elections saw 60.60% of the electorate casting their votes and they gave all 7 seats to the BJP. But the low voter turnout this time means that despite a vitriolic campaign run by the BJP, it has not convinced people in large numbers to come out and vote for it.

The exit polls also confirm this. The poll of all exit polls estimates 50-55 seats for the AAP, 10-15 seats for the BJP and 1-2 seats for the Congress. There is no major swing away from the AAP compared to 2015 elections and while the BJP has gained some percentage points, it seems it is at the cost of the Congress. If the exits polls have captured the voting patterns correctly, it seems the people of Delhi have rewarded Arvind Kejriwal with another term for the good work he has done for them and have rejected the high octane but divisive campaign carried out by the BJP. This time, the BJP tactic of not declaring a candidate for the chief minister's post seems to have misfired big time and they just could not counter his good governance record with their nationalist propaganda. It also proves once again that while Modi gets them the votes in national elections, he does not sway the voters in state elections.

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