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Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal and the Bharatiya Janata Party’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 the 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.
Among 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 the 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, the BJP and the 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 the chief minister's post with 40 per cent respondents supporting his candidature. 38 per cent Delhiites feel that BJP can give a stable government.
| Total | Male | Female | |
| Arvind Kejriwal | 47.0% | 45.9% | 50.3% |
| Kiran Bedi | 43.9% | 44.8% | 41.4% |
| Ajay Makhan | 6.7% | 7.2% | 5.1% |
| None of these | 2.4% | 2.1% | 3.2% |
According to the ABP News-Nielsen snap poll, majority of the respondents at around 44 per cent feel that the former top cop Kiran Bedi should have joined the Aam Aadmi Party. Less than one third of respondents (23%) claim that it does not matter to them which party Kiran Bedi joins. Around 33 per cent feel that she has done the right thing by joining BJP.
As per the ABP News-Nielsen snap poll, majority of the respondents (61.6 per cent) claimed that even if Kiran Bedi is announced as BJP's CM candidate it will not impact their voting decision.
As per the snap poll, AAP is leading with 46 per cent -- and is ahead of BJP which is at 45 per cent as the most preferred party in the Delhi assembly polls. Around eight per cent respondents are likely to go with the Congress party.
The AAP seems to be getting higher support from women respondents with around 49 per cent, in spite of Kiran Bedi joining the BJP.
| Total | Male | Female | |
| AAP | 46% | 44.5% | 48.6% |
| BJP | 45% | 45.6% | 43.0% |
| INC | 8% | 8.7% | 6.5% |
| Not yet decided | 1% | 1.3% | 1.9% |
The snap poll was conducted by ABP News-Nielsen with 1,489 respondents from January 17 to January 19 in Delhi to understand people’s views regarding Kiran Bedi’s induction into the BJP.