Delhi polls: Bookies predict a fractured mandate, Congress might be the king maker

27-28 A; 38-39 B and 3-4 C. If you are a politics junkie, I do not need to explain this cryptic code to you. But for those who are not, these are the Monday morning rates from the satta market on the election in Delhi. [caption id=“attachment_2075543” align=“alignleft” width=“380” class=" “] Representational image. AFP[/caption] According to bookies, the AAP is likely to win 27-28 seats, BJP 38-39 seats and the Congress 3-4. This basically is the ABC of this year’s election. Good news for the BJP? Yes. Bad news for the AAP? No. Three months ago, when bookies started accepting bets on the Delhi polls, the prediction was BJP 55 and AAP 10. A few weeks ago, after Kiran Bedi was named as the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate, the BJP was ahead with 46-48 seats. Even on Saturday, the BJP was at 40-41 and AAP at 25-26. But the tide has been turning rapidly. If the trend continues; if the AAP keeps rising over the next five days, we may have a repeat of December: A hung assembly. According to bookies, a fractured mandate is now a distinct possibility. If the BJP loses a few more seats, the AAP gains a few more, the Congress can become the king maker yet again, this time with just 3-4 seats. A bookie invokes the image of an uncouth thug looking to make a few bucks in the election season. But in an earlier piece, Firstpost had explained that their wide network gives them access to detailed feedback from almost every constituency. In the 2013 Assembly election, the bookies had almost got it right. They had correctly predicted landslide victory for the BJP in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. In Delhi, the bookies had predicted 32-34 seats for the BJP. But they got the prediction for AAP completely wrong saying Arvind Kejriwal’s party would win 8-10 seats. Will they get it right this time? All bets are off.