New Delhi, February 11: A new kind of politics has emerged from the Delhi Assembly polls with people rewarding the party which built schools, hospitals and provided cheap electricity round-the-clock, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Tuesday, hailing AAP’s landslide win as a victory of India.
“I love you,” Kejriwal said in a brief address to joyous supporters and party workers at the AAP’s headquarters in the national capital.
According to latest trends, AAP is leading in 63 out of 70 assembly seats while the BJP is ahead in seven constituencies.
“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,” he said.
He said the “politics of work” has taken birth in Delhi and the AAP’s victory is of the entire country.
“Bharat mata ki jai…Inquilab zindabad,” Kejriwal said as he started addressing the supporters.
‘Humbly accept people’s mandate’
Bharatiya Janata Party’s Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari conceded defeat in a tweet he posted on Tuesday evening as trends showed AAP’s sweeping victory.
His tweet said: “Thank you to all the voters of Delhi. Thank you to all the workers for their hard work… We humbly accept the mandate of the people of Delhi. Congratulations to Arvind Kejriwal Ji,” he said.
He said later at a press conference that it was not in fact a rejection of the BJP because the party’s vote share had in fact gone up.
He also said that said the party would review its performance.
“Delhi must have given mandate after careful thinking. Our vote percentage has increased from 32 per cent to around 38 per cent. Delhi did not reject us and the increase (in vote share) is a good sign for us,” he told reporters.
He said the BJP hopes that there would be less blame game and more work in the national capital and congratulated Arvind Kejriwal on his party’s victory in the polls.
After winning the Patparganj seat, AAP senior leader Manish Sisodia accused the BJP of indulging in the politics of hate.
“We indulge in politics of development not politics of hate. We’re against the roadblock in Shaheen Bagh as we were earlier,” he said.
The Congress, which drew a blank these elections—much like the 2015 assembly elections—had conceded earlier in the day.
Congress party’s Delhi in-charge PC Chacko said at a press conference the party leaders address earlier in the day that the party would now focus on reviving itself.
“We respect the verdict of the people Congress lost the election today. We accept the results with humility. There was a strong polarisation in Delhi. The result is also due to that. Every election is a test of democracy,” he said.
“We dedicate ourselves to revive the Congress party. At the same time, we are happy that the most toxic election campaign unleashed by the Prime Minister and Home Minister led by the BJP, is defeated today. That is the message people of Delhi have given today. We are quite sure that we will work hard and come back that’s our promise in this hour of defeat.”
Echoing him, Congress’s Delhi president Subhash Chopra said: “Both parties successfully polarised the election. All claims of BJP that the Home Minister was making of winning 48 seats, have fallen flat on the ground. The results reflect that people of Delhi can never go with communal force”. Talking about Congress’ three terms in Delhi, Chopra recalled the work done by Congress chief minister, the late Sheila Dixit, he said “We feel that the kind of work we did in Delhi, they cannot even imagine. But it is people’s mandate that they have won. They successfully showcased their work through their election campaign as expensive as Rs 3,192 crore and convinced people but the reality is that all flyovers, Metro and other development work has been done by the Congress party.
“Delhi has suffered in last five years, especially students, whether it is Jamia, JNU or Gargi College where outsiders molested girls. Our girls are not safe inside the college premises. Where is home minister, central government and where was the Chief Minister of Delhi?” Congress national spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said “This mandate and message of people of Delhi is definitely against us but it is also against the communal leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. People have rejected their ideology.” “People of Delhi have given their mandate against the Congress party. We accept the mandate and their message with humility. We repeat in our heart the pledge to reboot the Congress party and assure our party workers that we will keep a vigil on Delhi’s structural development, water and electricity, unemployment and the economy. We will keep a watch and will keep giving constructive feedback to the ruling party.”
‘Congratulations’
NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday claimed the Delhi Assembly poll results indicated “winds of change” were blowing in the country, and said the BJP tried to “polarise” voters but failed.
“The Delhi poll results indicate ‘winds of change’ blowing in the country. The results are not surprising to me,” Pawar told reporters here.
The BJP, as usual, played the “communal card to polarise votes”, but failed, the former Union minister said.
“The Delhi Assembly poll contest was only between the Aam Aadmi Party and the BJP, hence one might claim that the saffron party’s vote share is soaring,” he added.
Earlier, Pawar took to twitter to congratulate Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on victory in the polls.
“Congratulations to Shri. Arvind Kejariwal ji and Aam Admi Party workers for achieving a ‘Sweeping Victory’ in the Delhi Assembly Polls!” he tweeted.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said “Jan Ki Baat” won over ‘Mann Ki Baat’, an apparent dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Reacting to it, Thackeray said: “The people of Delhi have chosen ‘Jan Ki Baat’ over ‘Mann Ki Baat’. 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.”
“Kejriwal was termed as a terrorist. Instead of focusing on local issues, they (BJP) tried to bring in international issues and change people’s minds, but failed.
The people of Delhi have stood firmly behind Kejriwal for his honesty and willingness to work for their betterment,” Thackeray said without taking BJP’s name.
“There were some people who were under the illusion that they are the only ones who love the nation while all political opponents are anti-nationals. The people of Delhi have shown such people their place,” the Shiv Sena chief said.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan congratulated Kejriwal for AAP’s “resounding victory” in assembly elections, saying let it be a harbinger for inclusive politics in the country.
“Congratulations to @ArvindKejriwal and @AamAadmiParty on a resounding victory in Delhi elections. Let this victory be a harbinger for pro-people and inclusive politics in our country,” he tweeted.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter Iltija Mufti tweeted from her mother’s handle on Tuesday saying it was a defeat of “divisive” politics.
“On behalf of Ms Mufti, I’d like to congratulate @ArvindKejriwal for his spectacular victory & especially Dilliwallahs for rejecting vitriolic divisive politics & voting on real issues instead,” Mehbooba’s daughter Iltija Mufti tweeted from her mother’s handle on Tuesday.
Referring to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement about Shaheen Bagh protests, she said, “Those exhorting Dilliwallahs to send a current got electrocuted themselves & that too at high voltage.”
