New Delhi, January 29: An internal survey conducted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has predicted 30-35 seats for the saffron camp if the focus continues to remain on Shaheen Bagh protests till the polling day. The survey claims that the party has gained considerable amount of grounds in the past couple of weeks, and may end up toppling the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) if the momentum continues.

The Shaheen Bagh protests, claim BJP insiders, is electorally working in their favour in run-up to the Delhi polls as a massive section of the city residents are facing inconvenience. With the BJP projecting the AAP and the Congress as those backing the anti-CAA agitation, the party is considering itself as poised to benefit in the assembly elections. 'Shaheen Bagh Protesters Will Rape Your Sisters, Daughters...Delhi Must Think and Decide', Says BJP MP Parvesh Verma; Watch Video.

Delhi BJP unit chief manoj Tiwari, while speaking to HT, confirmed that the party has received feelers of a changing tide in the national capital. "It is true that now we are doing very well. People have reacted to the Shaheen Bagh mentality — Manish Sisodia’s statement that he and his party stand with Shaheen Bagh has helped us," Tiwari was reported as saying by the English daily.

The BJP campaign, led by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, has lately turned Shaheen Bagh-centric. In a public address last week, Shah called upon the electorate to press the lotus "so hard" at the polling booth that the current reaches Shaheen Bagh. "To protect Delhi from such kind of protests which severely affect daily life, vote for the BJP," he said.

Party lawmaker Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, on Tuesday, tagged the Shaheen Bagh demonstrators as "rapists and murderers". Despite the protest largely being led by women, the BJP MP said the demonstrators would soon "enter the homes of Delhi residents and rape your sisters and daughters".

The Shaheen Bagh protests in Delhi began on December 15, in opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act passed by the Indian Parliament. The law, in view of the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC), is being considered as a ploy to strip the citizenship of a section of Muslims. The CAA guarantees citizenship to non-Muslims with proof of residing in India before 2014. The Muslims, if left out of the NRC, would have to prove their ancestral citizenship -- which may date back to as early as 1951 -- before the Foreigners' Tribunal.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 29, 2020 02:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).