New Delhi: Delhi has voted for Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Emphatically. His Aam Aadmi Party is set to register a landslide win in the Delhi elections, leading in 55 seats at 9.45 on Tuesday morning.
The BJP – which had 13 months ago won 31 seats – is staring at a huge debacle, leading only in 11. The Congress’ decimation is complete, it is leading only in one now.
“I had no nervous moments, we knew people were with us. I promise to end corruption and VIP culture,” Mr Kejriwal, 46, told sources, as leads showed his party was set to return to power in the national capital.
At the AAP office in west Delhi’s Patel Nagar, there are massive celebrations. A giant board outside reads, “Janta ka CM (The chief minister of the people)”. Hundreds of people have gathered in the AAP’s white Gandhi topi, waving the Indian tricolour.
From the balconies of adjoining houses, people are showering flower petals. Inside, Mr Kejriwal is tracking the election results.
Reacting to leads showing AAP ahead, the BJP’s presumptive chief minister Kiran Bedi said, “The defeat is mine… it is not a referendum on PM Modi.”
This is the first major setback for PM Modi since he registered a massive win in the national elections in May last year.
The BJP has won most recently held state polls based on BJP chief Amit Shah’s strategy of projecting only Mr Modi, but he changed tack for Delhi, picking Ms Bedi as the chief ministerial candidate at the last minute, seemingly to counter Mr Kejriwal’s growing popularity.
Exactly a year ago, Arvind Kejriwal had quit as chief minister at the head of a minority government after 49 days in office over his anti-corruption bill, forcing President’s Rule in Delhi.
He repeatedly admitted quitting was a mistake and had sought a majority this time.
AAP had won 28 seats in December 2013. The BJP was the single largest party with 31 and the Congress had eight.
