Will Take Full Responsibility for Delhi Results: Kiran Bedi

New Delhi:

As exit polls predicted that Arvind Kejriwal would be the next chief minister of Delhi, his main rival Kiran Bedi said she would wait for results to be declared on Tuesday.

"I still feel the results will be in favour of BJP. I think we need to wait till February 10," Ms Bedi said apologising for a hoarse voice. She pointed out that the initials trends from exit polls took into account voting only till 3 pm on Saturday and that many more people had voted later.

But Ms Bedi also said that "I will take full responsibility for results of Delhi."

Kiran Bedi, 65, a famous former police officer, joined the BJP and politics last month and within four days was named the party's presumptive chief minister of Delhi.

It was a mega shift in strategy for the BJP which had projected only Prime Minister Narendra Modi in state elections held after its win in the May national elections.

Advertisement

Some saw a masterstroke in bringing Kiran Bedi to counter Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party; they share similar administrative experience and were associates on what was called Team Anna during Gandhian activist Anna Hazare's anti-corruption campaign in 2011.

Others saw in the move the BJP's acknowledgement that it was struggling to find a leader in the party who could take on Mr Kejriwal.

Advertisement

Mr Kejriwal said Ms Bedi was "a very nice lady in the wrong party" and alleged that the BJP planned to use her as a scapegoat if it lost the Delhi election.

Mid-way, worried that sulking Delhi leaders were not rallying around Ms Bedi, who was drawing much smaller crowds than Mr Kejriwal, BJP chief Amit Shah stepped in with a re-calibrated strategy.

Advertisement

He deployed an army of lawmakers and ministers to campaign in the last lap. PM Modi addressed four rallies in five days. Mr Kejriwal alleged that Ms Bedi had been gagged.

BJP leaders have been at pains to emphasise that Delhi is a local election and can no way be billed as a referendum on PM Modi's popularity.

Advertisement

But political rivals point out that the BJP has credited a "Modi wave" for win in the national elections and in state elections thereafter. Is that wave over, they ask.