"Had Congress and AAP been together": Sanjay Raut on Delhi election trends

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 8 : Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday weighed in on the Delhi Election trends, saying that the early results show a sharp competition between the BJP and the opposition parties.
Raut said that if the Congress and AAP had allied, the outcome might have been very different. He emphasised that both the Congress and AAP have the same political opponent - the BJP - but unfortunately, they chose to fight individually rather than join forces.
"The early trends show a sharp competition. Had Congress and AAP been together, the results may have been different... The political opponent of AAP and Congress is BJP. Both of them fought to keep BJP from coming to power, but they fought individually. If they had been together then BJP's defeat must have been confirmed in the first hour (of counting)," said Raut.
He also made serious allegations against the Election Commission (EC) and the ruling BJP-led NDA government in the Centre. Raut claimed that the EC has been turning a blind eye to serious concerns, including voter list fraud and a new "Maharashtra pattern" that's been implemented in Delhi.
Speaking to media, Raut said, "We held a press conference to discuss the attitude of the Election Commission and the government regarding the elections. How fraud is happening in the voter list and how this new Maharashtra pattern has been created. I also said that the Maharashtra pattern has been implemented in Delhi as well," Raut said.
Raut, known for his sharp criticism of the ruling BJP, suggested that the EC has ignored serious concerns. "The Election Commission was sitting with its eyes closed. The 39 lakh votes that have increased in Maharashtra in five months will now shift to Bihar, some will go to Delhi," he added.
The Shiv Sena leader then went on to suggest a larger conspiracy to influence the Delhi elections. "The Prime Minister was in Delhi for 10 years but could not win Delhi. His last wish may be that he should win Delhi while I am in politics. So, efforts are being made to win Delhi by going to any extent," he claimed.
Raut also accused the BJP of using forced tactics to sway votes. "You think people are voting for BJP, nobody wants to vote for BJP, this is forced voting," he said, calling into question the legitimacy of Assembly elections in Delhi.
Meanwhile, as BJP is leading in the majority of seats in the Delhi assembly election, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah took a jibe at opposition INDIA bloc members Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Abdullah, a senior leader of the National Conference, which is also part of the INDIA bloc, took to X as early trending counting trends indicated a loss for both the ruling AAP and Congress in Delhi.
Sharing a popular meme, which purportedly said, "Jee bhar kar lado. Samaapt kardo ek dusre ko!"
BJP has crossed the majority mark in the Delhi Assembly election results, as per the early trends by the Election Commission of India.
BJP is currently leading on 45 seats while the AAP is ahead on 25 seats.
The majority mark to form the government in the national capital is 36.BJP's Parvesh Verma is leading in the New Delhi Assembly seat against Arvind Kejriwal by a vote margin of 225. AAP Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj is also trailing on the Greater Kailash seat against BJP's Shikha Roy by a vote margin of 4,440.
Delhi Chief Minister Atishi is trailing BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri on the Kalkaji seat by a margin of 2,800 votes. Polling for the 70-member Assembly was held on February 5, with a total voter turnout recorded at 60.54 per cent.