NEW DELHI Apr 26 (agencies): A number of opinion polls by the media and news reports have tipped Narendra Modi as the next Indian prime minister but that's not what the average Delhi residents seem to feel.
They say it will be a close call between the ruling Congress and opposition BJP.
Newly-formed 'Aam Admi Party' (AAP)'s victory in Delhi assembly hints that it will be tough for either of the big parties to win a majority on their own.
India, the world's largest democracy, went to polls on Apr 7. Balloting, held in nine phases, will end on May 12 and results will be announced four days later.
Opinion polls suggest the BJP-led NDA Alliance will get close to 272 seats needed to form the government in a 545-member Lok Sabha.
"Well, you can't say for sure that the BJP will win," Anima Sen, a fruit vendor in Delhi told bdnews24.com.
BJP's candidate Modi is the chief minister of Gujarat. His role is still questioned over the 2002 Hindu-Muslim riots in his state.
Congress and BJP are trading charges as the polls near its end.
The ruling party turned up the heat on Modi earlier this month forcing him to acknowledge for the first time that he was married.
Modi, on the other hand, has been attacking the Gandhis for decades of corruption and misrule.
The BJP candidate also took a dig at Bangladesh.
Addressing a Kolkata rally in early February, he said 'infiltration' from Bangladesh must be stopped.
This 'influx', he said, has caused "major demographic changes which worry us".
However, Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Pankaj Saran on Apr 7 said Delhi's policy towards Bangladesh will remain unchanged even if there is a regime change in Delhi after the elections.
Issues like corruption and development have got the centre-stage in election campaigning, said Bihar's Arun Kumar, who sells tea at a stall in Delhi. "Because, the corruption level has increased and there was discrimination in the development of the states," he said.
BJP is pushing a range of market reforms to make a difference from the Congress-led government's focus on subsidies.
"A market-centric policy would promote self-reliance as a top priority," a senior BJP leader was quoted as telling Reuters. Congress has pointed finger at Modi for the 'Gujarat Model'-a programme to boost farm efficiency championed by Modi in his home state.
However, there are many who look up to the three-time chief minister for the state's development.
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul Gandhi, and daughter Priyanka Gandhi have alleged that a particular corporate institution has benefited from the 'Gujarat Model'.
Party's Vice-Chairman Rahul claimed the 'Adani' group, which greatly benefited from the Model, was sponsoring Modi's campaign.
Rahul's allegation has become a hot topic among the voters as this correspondent found in Delhi.
Two university students, Sudipta Sen and Kumar Biswas, were discussing it near the Delhi Gate.
They wondered why Rahul did not raise the issue before if it were true.
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