BJP sweeps Delhi after 27 years, topples AAP heavyweights

NEW DELHI: As the results of the Delhi assembly elections unfolded on Saturday, the national capital is set for a major political shift, with the BJP returning to power after 27 long years. The saffron party restricted the Aam Aadmi Party to less than 25 seats, delivering shocking defeats to top guns, including three-time chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi’s former deputy CM Manish Sisodia.

Arvind Kejriwal

In the high-profile New Delhi seat, a fierce battle was seen between AAP supremo Kejriwal and BJP’s Parvesh Verma, son of former Delhi CM Sahib Singh Verma. The contest remained neck-and-neck till the afternoon, but Verma ultimately emerged victorious. Congress candidate Sandeep Dikshit, son of former CM Sheila Dikshit, remained a distant third throughout the counting.

Manish Sisodia

Manish Sisodia, who shifted from his traditional Patparganj seat to contest from Jangpura, suffered a narrow defeat against BJP’s Tarvinder Singh Marwah by just 600 votes. Sisodia had barely managed to retain Patparganj in the 2020 elections but failed to secure a win in his new constituency.

Satyendar Jain

Former Delhi minister and three-time MLA Satyendar Jain suffered a defeat in Shakur Basti with a huge margin of over 20,000, as BJP’s Karnail Singh snatched the seat from AAP’s stronghold. Jain, a key figure in the AAP government, failed to defend his constituency against the BJP challenger.

In the 2020 Delhi Assembly elections, Jain had secured victory over BJP’s S C Vats by a margin of 7,592 votes. At that time, the total number of electors in the constituency stood at 1,46,226, with 99,165 valid votes cast. However, this time, the BJP managed to overturn AAP’s dominance, securing a crucial win in the constituency.

Somnath Bharti

Another major setback for AAP came in Malviya Nagar, where three-time MLA and former minister Somnath Bharti lost his stronghold to BJP’s Satish Upadhyay.

Awadh Ojha

Similarly, AAP’s star candidate Awadh Ojha, an educator who replaced Sisodia in Patparganj, lost to BJP’s Ravinder Singh Negi by a massive margin of over 28,000 votes.

Saurabh Bharadwaj

In Greater Kailash, Delhi cabinet minister Saurabh Bharadwaj was unseated by BJP leader Shikha Roy, marking another blow to AAP’s leadership. In Shakur Basti, former Delhi minister and three-time MLA Satyendar Jain lost to BJP’s Karnail Singh in a three-way contest that also featured INC’s Satish Kumar Luthra.

Durgesh Pathak

The key Rajinder Nagar constituency also witnessed an intense contest, where senior AAP leader Durgesh Pathak was defeated by BJP’s Umang Bajaj by over 1,000 votes.

With the BJP sweeping major AAP bastions and securing a decisive victory, Delhi is set for a new political chapter under the saffron party’s leadership.

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