As the counting of votes for the Delhi Assembly Election continues, the BJP is set to return to power after three decades with a decisive victory, having crossed the majority mark. The trends indicate that the BJP has secured 47 seats, while AAP has settled at 23 seats.
In the significant setback suffered by AAP, the party’s chief representatives, including Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Somnath Bharti, among others, are also facing a severe downfall.
Former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal lost his New Delhi seat, which recorded a voter turnout of 56.41% to former two-time BJP MP Parvesh Verma by finishing around 1,200 votes behind his rival, with the Congress’ Sandeep Dikshit securing a third position.
On trends suggesting a win for BJP, social activist Anna Hazare said, “I have always said that a candidate’s conduct, thoughts should be pure, life should be without a blame, and sacrifice should be there… these qualities let voters have faith on him. I told this (to Arvind Kejriwal) but he did not pay heed, and finally, he focused on liquor. Why did this issue raise? He was overwhelmed by money power.”
Senior leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who switched his seat from Patparganj to Jangpura this time, conceded defeat in Jangpura, losing to BJP’s Tarvinder Singh Marwah by over 600 votes.
Accepting defeat Sisodiya said, “Party workers fought well; we all did hard work. People have supported us as well. But, I lost by 600 votes. I congratulate the candidate who won. I hope he will work for the constituency.”
In the Malviya Nagar constituency, three-time incumbent AAP leader Somnath Bharti suffered a crushing defeat against his BJP rival, Satish Upadhyay.
The image of AAP and its leaders, which they built as ordinary citizens of Delhi fighting against corruption, helped them rise to power due to their steadfast commitment to creating a corruption-free Delhi. However, they have themselves faced multiple allegations.
AAP’s senior leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, have been jailed under various charges. In addition, the strong accusations by the BJP against AAP, such as the “AAPda” remarks, “Sheesh Mahal” remarks, and counterclaims about continuing development schemes in India, have worked in the BJP’s favor.
