Kejriwal, Bedi in tough battle for Delhi CM: poll

New Delhi, Jan 19: Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal and BJP's Kiran Bedi are pitted in a tough battle for the Chief Minister's post in Delhi, according to a poll conducted by a news channel.

Kejriwal continues to be the most preferred chief ministerial candidate with 47 per cent, while Bedi, who joined BJP recently, is set to give a stiff competition as she managed the support of 44 per cent of the respondents, according to a 'snap poll' conducted by ABP News-Nielsen.

Amongst women respondents, Kejriwal is more popular with about 50 per cent of them backing him, whereas Bedi got 41.4 per cent support. According to the poll, around 44 per cent felt that Bedi should have joined Aam Aadmi Party, while 33 per cent felt she did the right thing joining BJP and 23 per cent thought it does not matter which party she joins.

The snap poll was conducted among 1,489 respondents from January 17 to January 19 in Delhi. An opinion poll carried out between January 11 and 15 by News Nation channel suggested a hung assembly again in Delhi with no party getting an absolute majority.

As per the opinion poll, BJP and AAP are neck and neck on the number of seats they would win, with AAP having an upper edge with 31-35 seats whereas BJP with 29-33 seats, comes close second.

The opinion poll suggested AAP, due to its intense campaigning and populist issues, has an upper hand and is most likely to get 38 per cent vote share followed by BJP with 37 per cent.

Despite the close contest, Kejriwal continues to be the top choice for Chief Minister's post with 40 per cent respondents supporting his candidature. 38 per cent Delhiites feel that BJP can give a stable government.

PTI