Exit Polls for Delhi Suggest First Major Setback for PM Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi faces his first major setback since sweeping to power last year, according to exit polls on Saturday which showed a resurgent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on track to win a majority in Delhi.

Results will be declared on Tuesday.

AAP, fronted by Arvind Kejriwal, is likely to win 42 seats in the 70-seat assembly, according to the average of seven opinion polls released after voting had ended.

Exit polls have proved to be widely off mark in the past - BJP leaders like Shaina NC told NDTV that for the national election last year, most polls did not show the BJP sweeping the country. "So let's not go by these polls," she said. BJP ministers and spokespersons have said that the Delhi result cannot be taken as a referendum on the Prime Minister.

But the PM invested considerable political capital in the Delhi election, addressing rallies in different parts of the city, urging voters to spurn Mr Kejriwal, who he described as a "back-stabber" for resigning 49 days after taking over as Chief Minister at the start of 2014.

The BJP broke with recent habit to announce a presumptive Chief Minister - former top cop Kiran Bedi. But there were concerns within the party that she was being outshone during the campaign by Mr Kejriwal, who seemed to draw larger crowds.

The BJP described its move to induct Ms Bedi and declare her presumptive Chief Minister as "a masterstroke" but many within the Delhi branch of the party made their disagreement clear. As dissent erupted, BJP chief Amit Shah took charge, assisted closely in managing party strategy by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

The top-heavy team - senior ministers were tasked to address election rallies - telegraphed how jittery the BJP was about its opponent.

The BJP is expected to win 26 seats; it won 31 in the last election in Delhi a year ago. The PM won a stunning victory in May and has since ensured that his party has placed first in three of four state elections (Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir).