New Delhi: Surprised by the AAP dark horse during the Delhi elections, bookies in Delhi and the National Capital Region are predicting the Arvind Kejriwal-led party will give a similar winning encore in the Lok Sabha elections. Though the betting books have not yet opened, bookies appear more interested in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and predict the one election-old party has a "chance" of bagging a "good number" of seats in the April 7-May 12 general elections. The bookies are looking to bet on AAP candidates on seats across India. They feel the contest would be interesting on some seats, including Varanasi where BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is fighting, Chandigarh where two Bollywood actors are giving a fight to the Congress's Pawan Kumar Bansal and the New Delhi constituency where several big names are fielded, including Ajay Maken of Congress.

According to a bookie who did not wish to be named, they were waiting to open the rates and are hoping to reap a windfall with betting on AAP. "The bookies as well as punters are excited on the chances of AAP in the elections," the bookie said. He said the bookies believe that AAP will make a "major dent" in the Bharatiya Janata Party's prospects even though anti-incumbency favours the BJP. Once the betting rates open, the punters, or those who place bets, will favour the AAP as they may get "good returns", said the bookie.