AAP has the edge: Survey shows Kiran Bedi may have backfired for the BJP in Delhi

The Aam Aadmi Party has managed to win back supporters in New Delhi and has now taken a lead over the BJP in the Delhi Assembly polls, a pre-poll survey conducted by ABP News - Nielsen shows.

According to the survey, 50 percent of those polled were likely to vote for the Kejriwal-led party, up 4 percent from the last survey conducted by the agency in the second week of January.

In bad news for the BJP, the survey, which was conducted on 24 and 25 January to ascertain what impact Kiran Bedi's announcement had on the electorate, showed the party's fortunes decline by 4 percent (now down to 41 percent) in what ABP-Nielsen states is an indication that Bedi is not helping the party bring in new voters.

The BJP, according to the survey, has a higher proportion of committed voters - 84 percent - who say 'they shall definitely vote for BJP now' that Bedi has been announced as CM candidate.

However, in terms of its Chief Ministerial choice, Delhiites seem to still prefer Arvind Kejriwal over everyone else. The AAP leader, according to the survey, is the most suitable candidate for the position of CM with a 51 percent vote share while Kiran Bedi managed to secure 40 percent. The Congress's Ajay Maken finished third with just 8 percent.

The survey states that the AAP's support base is largely made up of Muslims, SC/ST/OBC and lower income groups. In terms of income groups, a majority of respondents belonging to the lower income group favoured AAP, while those with income on the higher side (Rs. 25,000 per month and above) favoured BJP. For the BJP, the Modi factor still seemed to hold some ground with several respondents saying that they will vote for the BJP because they wanted to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The snap poll was conducted in 70 assembly constituencies of Delhi with 2262 respondents. You can read the entire findings here. Delhi goes to polls on 7 February and the results will be declared on 1o February.