Delhi elections: ‘People voted for politics of development,’ says Kejriwal as AAP wins big

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal thanked the people of the city-state for reposing trust in the Aam Aadmi Party for the third time, as Assembly election trends showed the party winning by a landslide. “The people of Delhi have voted for the politics of development,” the AAP chief said.

By 7.45 pm, the ruling party in the national Capital had won 52 seats, and was ahead in 10. The Bharatiya Janata Party won six seats and was leading in two, the Election Commission said. The Aam Aadmi Party has been leading since trends began trickling in on Tuesday morning. All 70 seats had voted on Saturday.

“I love you,” Kejriwal said in a brief address to joyous supporters and party workers in the national Capital, according to PTI. “It is a victory of the people of Delhi who considered me their son...Lord Hanuman has blessed us. May God give us more strength to serve people of Delhi.” Kejriwal ended his speech with “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and “Inquilab Zindabad”.

Kejriwal’s deputy and Patparganj candidate, Manish Sisodia, and Kalkaji candidate Atishi won from their constituencies despite trailing earlier in the day. “I am happy to become the MLA from Patparganj Assembly constituency again,” Sisodia told ANI. “BJP tried to do politics of hate but people of Delhi chose a government that works for the people.”

Sisodia added that the people of Delhi have explained the true meaning of nationalism, PTI reported. He faced a tough fight and was trailing behind BJP’s Ravinder Singh Negi in early trends. The contest between Atishi and the saffron party’s Dharambir Singh was also neck-and-neck.

The Election Commission declared AAP leader Raghav Chadha as the winner from Rajinder Nagar constituency by a margin of 20,058 votes. He defeated BJP’s Sardar RP Singh. The poll panel also declared that Raaj Kumar Anand has won the Patel Nagar seat, defeating the BJP’s Pravesh Ratn by 30,935 votes.

Kejriwal is leading at the moment from New Delhi constituency by a margin of 20,288 votes against BJP’s Sunil Kumar Yadav. The chief minister had won by a margin of 31,583 in the 2015 Assembly elections.

AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan is leading against BJP’s Braham Singh from the Okhla constituency by a margin of over 77,000 votes. Shaheen Bagh, the epicentre of the anti-Citizenship Act protests, falls within this constituency. The BJP had unleashed a vitriolic campaign against the protestors at Shaheen Bagh.

Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal dissolved the sixth Legislative Assembly on Tuesday. “A new order will be issued for the formation of the Seventh Legislative Assembly after the final results come,” an unidentified official told PTI.

Here are the seat shares and vote shares of AAP and BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the 2015 Delhi elections, the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and the 2020 Delhi elections.

Also read:

1. Delhi election results at 2 pm: AAP leads on 57 seats, BJP on 13
   
2. Preview: In Delhi, can Kejriwal’s schools and hospitals clip the wings of BJP’s nationalism card?
   
3. Delhi election results: How the key candidates are performing
   

How parties reacted

BJP National President Jagat Prakash Nadda conceded the election late in the afternoon. “We respect the mandate given by the people of Delhi,” Nadda tweeted in Hindi. He said the party will play the role of a responsible Opposition in the national Capital.

Delhi BJP President Manoj Tiwari too conceded defeat. “Thank you to all the voters of Delhi. Thank you to all the party workers for their hard work,” he tweeted in Hindi. “We respect the mandate of the people.” Tiwari had claimed in the morning that the BJP would win 55 seats.

In the evening, Tiwari told media persons that the BJP will evaluate its performance, ANI reported. He said the one positive for the saffron party was that its vote share had increased from 32% in 2015 to 38% this time. Tiwari congratulated Kejriwal and said that he hoped the chief minister would perform according to the expectations of the people.

BJP leader Tajinder Bagga, contesting from the Hari Nagar seat, accepted defeat earlier in the day and said the party respects the people’s mandate. He congratulated the AAP, and thanked his constituency saying he will always stand for their rights, reported News18.

“The two crore families of Delhi have now said that their son Arvind Kejriwal is not a terrorist but a staunch nationalist,” tweeted AAP leader Sanjay Singh. “I salute the people of Delhi for giving AAP such a massive mandate.” He was referring to BJP MP Parvesh Verma’s comment during the campaigns. Earlier in the day, Singh had said the party will register a massive victory in the Assembly polls.

The party’s MP from East Delhi Gautam Gambhir said the BJP accepted the results and congratulated Kejriwal. “We tried our best but, probably, we could not convince the people of the state,” he said. “I hope Delhi develops under the chief ministership of Arvind Kejriwal.”

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said everyone knew that Aam Aadmi Party will return to power for the third time. “Congress’s defeat will not send a good message,” he told ANI. “The victory of AAP against the Bharatiya Janata Party and its communal agenda is significant.”

The Congress’ candidate, contesting from Vikaspuri, Mukesh Sharma has conceded defeat. “I accept my defeat, and thank all the voters and Congress workers of Vikaspuri constituency, he tweeted. “I hope there will be all-round development of the area. I will continue to fight for the all-round development of Delhi, Vikaspuri and Uttam Nagar assembly constituencies in future as well.”

Sharma was running against AAP leader Mahinder Yadav, who is leading by a margin of 21,793 votes against BJP leader Sanjay Singh. Yadav had won from the seat in 2015 by a margin of 77,665 votes.

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar said that the BJP tried to “polarise votes” but failed to do so, PTI reported.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray called the results a victory of “Jan ki Baat” (people’s voice) over “Man Ki Baat” (a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s monthly radio programme), PTI reported. “There is a [BJP-led central] government in Delhi with so called nationalistic views, which used the entire machinery and force in the Delhi Assembly polls but failed before the broom.”

He added that the BJP termed Kejriwal a terrorist and tried to bring in “international issues” instead of focusing on local problems, but failed.

Security was tightened across the national Capital to ensure peaceful counting of votes, ANI reported. The votes are being counted at 21 centres, Delhi’s Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh said. Traffic restrictions have also been put in place in some parts of the city ahead of the counting. Each counting centre has several counting halls equal to the number of constituencies under that district. Every electronic voting machine contains a ballot unit, a control unit, and a voter-verifiable paper audit trail or VVPAT. The centres are situated in 11 districts, including one in Commonwealth Games Sports Complex in east Delhi, and Rajiv Gandhi stadium in Bawana in north Delhi.

Congratulations pour in for AAP

Meanwhile, AAP workers in Amritsar were seen celebrating. The party’s Delhi headquarters was also decorated with balloons. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee congratulated Kejriwal even before the Election Commission officially declared wins.

“Congratulations Arvind Kejriwal as Delhi results show Aam Aadmi Party all set to win Delhi Election 2020 with a thumping majority yet again,” she tweeted. “Leaders playing on faith through hate speech and divisive politics should take a cue, as only those who deliver on their promises are rewarded.”

Banerjee mocked the BJP. saying it had been given a “befitting reply”. “The BJP tortured students and women in Delhi,” she alleged. “The party got a befitting reply in Delhi Assembly polls. It will face similar results in 2021 Assembly polls in Bengal. Only development initiatives will click.”

Political strategist Prashant Kishor tweeted saying, “Thank you Delhi for standing up to protect the soul of India!”

The contest

The elections were contested by 672 candidates – 593 men and 79 women.

The incumbent AAP faced the BJP as its main contender as the Congress remained a minor player in this year’s election. The ruling party relied on Kejriwal as its primary campaigner while Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah led the BJP’s campaign in the national Capital. The Congress did not seem to put up a strong fight during campaigns with its former President Rahul Gandhi and General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi addressing only a handful of rallies. Neither the BJP nor the Congress put up a chief ministerial face.

Sisodia and BJP leader Vijay Goel were separately seen offering prayers ahead of the results.

More than 1.47 crore people were eligible to vote in the Assembly elections. This included 2.33 lakh voters in 18-19 age group. On Saturday, 62.59% of the electorate turned up to cast their votes. However, the final voter turnout became a point of contention raised by the ruling AAP as the Election Commission released the official figure over 24 hours after voting ended on Saturday. The highest voter turnout of 71.6% was recorded in Ballimaran constituency, and the lowest was in the Delhi cantonment area, where it was 45.4%. The poll body said the turnout was two percentage points higher than in the Lok Sabha elections.

Exit polls

Most exit polls have predicted that the Aam Aadmi Party would comfortably sweep the elections to retain power in the national Capital. Both the BJP and the Congress have said that exit polls are not exact and sought to wait and watch.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP may get 44 seats, predicted the Times Now-IPSOS survey, and its figures showed the BJP could improve its 2015 tally and win 26 constituencies. The ABP News-C Voter said the ruling party in Delhi may win 49 to 63 seats while the saffron party may get between five to 19 seats.

The Republic TV- Jan Ki Baat survey gave the ruling party 48 to 61 seats, and the BJP between nine and 21 constituencies. The TV9 Bharatvarsh-Cicero poll’s forecast saw 54 seats for Kejriwal’s party, and 15 for the BJP. The India Today-Axis exit poll said that AAP would win between 59 to 68 seats, while the BJP would secure two to 11 constituencies.