Srinagar, Feb 11: Riding on its development agenda, the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was on Tuesday set for a resounding victory in the Delhi Assembly elections to retain power for a third term.
AAP was leading in 62 out of 70 seats and the BJP in 8, leaving the Congress virtually decimated in a city it had ruled for three consecutive terms under Sheila Dikshit.
AAP’s massive mandate of 62 seats is just a shade lower than its record 67 seats of 2015.
“I love you Delhi,” the Chief Minister declared from the party office, predicting the beginning of a “new kind of politics” focussed on local issues and the government’s delivery.
The BJP, which ran a massive campaign under the leadership of Amit Shah built around the anti-CAA protests of Shaheen Bagh, received scant returns.
The party numbers were confined to a single-digit, albeit an improvement on its 2015 tally of three seats. The opposition and AAP hailed the mandate as one against the divisive campaign of the BJP.
Kejriwal had steered clear of controversy, focussing instead on bread-and-butter issues like power and water, education, health and environment.
Flanked by his wife, Sunita, daughter Harshita and son Pulkit, he peppered his speech with victory slogans urging the audience to complete them.
“Friends, I want to thank all the residents of Delhi from the bottom of heart for keeping their faith in their son for the third time. This is not my victory, its the victory of everyone in Delhi. It’s the victory of all those families who considered me as their son and gave their tremendous support and voted for us,” he said.
The AAP leader, who is set to be a third time chief minister, said his party’s win has given birth to “politics of work” in Delhi.
In the run-up to the assembly polls, Kejriwal had repositioned himself as a person focussing on the welfare of the people from being a person always at loggerheads with the authorities.
Playing smart, Kejriwal did not engage the BJP in any blame game and emphasised he would fight the election on local issues and a “positive campaign”.
The win comes as a big boost as the AAP suffered a setback in the 2017 municipal election and was routed in all seven of the Delhi’s parliamentary seats in 2019 as well.
Even as anti-CAA protests and Shaheen Bagh remained at the centre of the BJP’s poll agenda in Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal and his party chose to stay mum on it. And it has paid off.
Amanatullah Khan, AAP sitting MLA Okhla – which includes the anti-CAA protest site Shaheen Bagh, has secured a comfortable lead with the second-largest margin of at least 80,000 votes. By 6 pm, he had won 74.1 per cent of all valid votes counted. BJP’s Braham Singh was a distant second with 21.97 per cent.
After the trends showed him in a comfortable lead, Amanullah Khan said, “People of Delhi have given an electric shock to the BJP and Amit Shah. This is the victory of work and defeat of hatred.” The Ojhla constituency, which also constitutes Zakir Nagar, Batla House, Jasola, Kalindi colony, Abul Fazal Enclave, Okhla Vihar, Sarita Vihar, Madanpur Khadar, had seen violence during a police crackdown on Jamia campus on December 15. The seat is also the hub of Shaheen Bagh protest which is underway for the last 50 days. Okhla constituency recorded 58.84 per cent.
Seelampur, which had witnessed incidents of violence during a protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, saw Aam Aadmi Party candidate Abdul Rehman won by 36920 votes with BJP’s Kaushal Kumar Mishra in the second position. On Saturday, Seelampur constituency had recorded a turnout of 71.2 per cent.
Another Muslim-dominated area, next to Seelampur, Matia Mahal also chose Aam Adami Party candidate Shoiab Iqbal over Bharatiya Janata Party’s Ravinder Gupta. AAP candidate’s victory margin was over 50,000 votes. Matia Mahal had also witnessed anti-CAA protests.
Mustafabad, also in Delhi’s northeast and a witness to anti-CAA protests, elected AAP candidate. After trailing for the majority of the day, AAP’s Haji Yunus overtook BJP’s sitting MLA Jagdish Pradhan to secure victory with a margin of over 20,000 votes.
‘Politics of work’ triumphed: Kejriwal
New Delhi, Feb 11: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal Tuesday said that ‘kaam ki rajneeti (politics of work)’ had triumphed in the national capital.
Kejriwal was speaking to party workers and functionaries, hours after results of the 2020 Delhi Assembly elections showed that AAP would retain power in the national capital. Voters in all 70 constituencies had cast their ballots on February 8. AAP retained 62 of the 70 constituencies.
Starting his address with “Dilli waalon, I love you”, Kejriwal said that “the people of Delhi have given birth to a new model of politics, which is the ‘kaam ki rajneeti’ (politics of work)”.
Thanking the Delhi voters, Kejriwal said it was the victory of not just the people of Delhi, but of India.
“I thank people of Delhi for reposing their faith in AAP for the third time. This the victory of the people who consider me as their son and voted for us. It is not my victory, it is the victory of the people in Delhi. In fact, not just Delhi’s victory, India’s too,” Kejriwal said.
He went on to say that it is the victory of every family that supported him considering him a son. “It is India’s victory,” he said.
He added that it was “auspicious” for the country. “This model of politics will take the country forward,” Kejriwal added.
While thanking the party cadre and karyakartas for their hard work during the elections, Kejriwal asked them to continue working harder for the next five years. (Agencies)
PM Modi congratulates
Monitor News Desk
New Delhi, Feb 11: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday congratulated Arvind Kejriwal for the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) stunning victory in the Delhi assembly elections.
“Congratulations to AAP and Shri @ArvindKejriwal Ji for the victory in the Delhi Assembly Elections. Wishing them the very best in fulfilling the aspirations of the people of Delhi,” Modi tweeted.
The AAP was on course to win 62 seats in the 70-member Delhi assembly while the BJP was heading for victory in eight seats – far less than what the party had claimed that it would win.
Modi was one of the BJP heavyweights who had campaigned for the BJP and had addressed two elections rallies on February 3 and February 4.
In the first rally, he said that the BJP delivers what it promises as he sought votes to “change the fortunes of Delhi, and make the city safe, modern and clean.”
In his second rally, Modi said a wave in favour of BJP was making many people sleepless. He then went on to accuse the AAP of stalling the Centre’s welfare scheme for the poor, such as the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme.”But that won’t happen after February 11,” he had said.
Earlier Tuesday, as AAP romped home, BJP’s new president Jagat Prakash Nadda also tweeted that the party would play its role as a constructive opposition and raise public issues in the assembly.
Delhi’s BJP chief and Lok Sabha MP Manoj Tiwari who had claimed that the BJP would regain power in the national capital with at least 48 seats said the party would analyse why it failed to meet its own expectations.
