Most exit polls have projected the Bharatiya Janata Party to be ahead of the Aam Aadmi Party in the Delhi Assembly election. An aggregate of exit poll predictions showed that the BJP could win 43 seats in the 70-member house and AAP 26.

According to pollster Chanakya Strategies, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party could win 25 to 28 seats, and the BJP may emerge victorious in 39 to 44 constituencies. Matrize forecast a closer contest, giving 32 to 37 seats for the AAP and 35 to 40 seats for the BJP.

On the other hand, another pollster, Mind Brink, predicted 44 to 49 seats for the AAP and 21 to 25 wins for the BJP.

The predictions were made as the polling for the Assembly polls in the national capital concluded earlier in the day. A provisional voter turnout of 57.7% was recorded till 5 pm. More here.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday alleged that the police were checking voters’ identity cards in Uttar Pradesh’s Milkipur during the Assembly bye-election. He urged the Election Commission to take action, describing it as a “democratic crime” aimed at intimidating voters.

The Ayodhya Police denied the claim, stating that officers had only checked the ID cards of booth agents, not voters. “The person seen in the photo [posted by Yadav] is not a voter but a booth agent,” the police said on X.

The bye-election was necessitated after Samajwadi Party’s Awadhesh Prasad resigned as MLA following his Lok Sabha election win last year. Prasad accused the ruling BJP of “influencing” the polls, while the Samajwadi Party alleged voter suppression and “fake voting” by BJP leaders. Read on.

A United States military aircraft carrying over 100 deported Indian citizens landed in Amritsar on Wednesday, according to The Indian Express. The Indian government has not confirmed the number of deportees.

This marks the first military deportation of Indian nationals since US President Donald Trump returned to office in January. The Indian Express reported that 25 women, 12 minors and 79 men were among those on board, along with US officials and crew.

The deportees were from Punjab, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. Punjab’s police chief said the state government had arranged assistance for the deportees, including transport to their home states.

Congress leaders criticised the US government, alleging those deported had been mistreated. “Looking at the pictures of Indians getting handcuffed and humiliated while being deported from the US saddens me as an Indian,” party spokesperson Pawan Khera said.

India’s External Affairs Ministry has said that it is working with US authorities to verify the identities of undocumented Indian migrants. A 2022 US report estimated 220,000 undocumented Indians were living in the country. Read on.

India’s service sector grew at its slowest pace in over two years in January, according to the HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index published on Wednesday by S&P Global. The index fell to 56.5 from 59.3 in December, indicating a loss of momentum despite remaining above the 50-mark for expansion.

The slowdown was attributed to weaker sales and output growth. “Business activity and new business indices eased to their lowest since November 2022 and November 2023, respectively,” said Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC. However, international sales grew at their fastest pace in five months, driven by demand from Asia, Europe, West Asia and the Americas.

A separate HSBC Flash Composite PMI had earlier indicated that private sector activity fell to a 14-month low in January. Read on.

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