In a near-repeat performance of 2015, the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday retained power with a stunning victory, winning 62 of the 70 assembly seats and leaving the BJP with just eight seats. The AAP had bagged 67 seats in 2015. According to the final votes tally released by the Election Commission, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) got eight seats with vote share of 38.51 per cent.
The Assembly seats where BJP win are: Badarpur - Ramvir Singh Bhiduri, Gandhi Nagar - Anil Kumar Bajpai, Ghonda - Ajay Mahawar, Karawal Nagar - Mohan Singh Bisht, Laxmi Nagar - Abhay Verma, Rohini - Vijender Kumar, Rohtas Nagar - Jitender Mahajan, Vishwas Nagar - Om Prakash Sharma.
Delhi Assembly elections took place in the midst of massive protests in the city and elsewhere over the new citizenship law, an issue which was strongly raised by the BJP top leadership during the campaigning which often turned bitter and vitriolic.
Though BJP’s campaign focused on national security issues, the AAP mainly focused on its achievements in the fields of education, healthcare and infrastructure.
The AAP had registered a sensational victory in 2015 by winning 67 seats in a hurricane march that almost wiped out the BJP and the Congress.
“We have been saying since the beginning that the upcoming polls will be fought on the basis of work done by us” AAP spokesperson Sanjay Singh told reporters.
A clear majority shows that doing Hindu-Muslim politics will not work anymore, said AAP volunteer Fareen Khan at the party office.
After he was declared winner from the Patparganj seat, Sisodia said the BJP indulged in “politics of hate”, but people refused its agenda.
“The BJP indulged in politics of hate, but I thank the people of Patparganj...Delhi’s people have chosen a government which works for them and explained the true meaning of nationalism through their mandate,” he told reporters.
Carrying blue and white balloons, buntings and giant cut-outs of their leader Arvind Kejriwal, AAP workers celebrated at the party’s headquarter in the national capital.
Grooving to the tunes of the party’s campaign song - ‘Lage Raho Kejriwal’ - and drumbeats, AAP workers and supporters hugged each other and offered ‘ladoos’ amid a charged atmosphere.
The Congress accepted defeat and vowed to rebuild and revive itself at the grassroots level in the city.
“People’s mandate is against us, we accept it. We have resolved to revive and rebuild the party,” Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said at a press conference. A total of 672 candidates, including 593 men and 79 women, were in the fray for the hotly contested elections.