New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP faces a rout after an unchallenged decade, with the BJP heading for a huge victory in Delhi after 26 years. For the Congress, it is a record it never wanted – three ducks. “Development won, good governance won,” PM Modi said.
Here’s your 10-point cheat sheet to this big story
- Six hours into the counting of votes, the BJP was ahead in 48 out of 70 seats and AAP was leading in 22. The Congress appeared set for another blank show.
- AAP’s massive fall took down its top leadership; convenor Arvind Kejriwal and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia have lost from the New Delhi and Jangpura constituencies. Chief Minister Atishi, however, won from Kalkaji, defeating the BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri.
- Arvind Kejriwal lost to BJP rival Parvesh Sahib Singh, widely seen as a chief ministerial probable.
- Exit polls, wide off the mark in recent elections, proved to be accurate for Delhi. Most of them had given the BJP an edge over AAP, which has been in power in Delhi since 2015.
- On Friday, Mr Kejriwal alleged that the BJP was creating “psychological pressure” and tried to poach AAP MLAs, following which a team of the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) came to his house to seek evidence. When he refused to meet the team, the officials served notice seeking proof.
- Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, who reports to the Centre, had ordered a probe into allegations by AAP leaders that BJP attempted to poach candidates by offering them Rs 15 crore and ministerial berths. The BJP demanded AAP retract its charges and apologise or face legal action.
- AAP established its dominance in Delhi’s political map soon after its launch when it defeated both the BJP and Congress in the 2015 polls, winning 67 of the capital’s 70 assembly seats.
- The party again formed its government in 2020, winning 62 seats and decimating the Opposition BJP and Congress.
- For AAP, one of its biggest challenges was the Delhi liquor policy case. Arvind Kejriwal, who gave up chief ministership, and his deputy Manish Sisodia, spent months in jail over the case.
- The BJP also cornered AAP over the “Sheesh Mahal“, which came to describe the Arvind Kejriwal government’s huge spend on a luxurious chief minister’s bungalow complete with a jacuzzi, swimming pool and gold-plated toilets.