Key Points
BJP sweeps Delhi elections with significant margin
AAP leadership reflects on unexpected constituency loss
Voter turnout recorded at 60.54 percent
Kejriwal also loses New Delhi seat
According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), BJP leader Shikha Roy received 49,594 votes while Bhardwaj got 46,406 votes. Congress candidate Garvit Singhvi, on the other hand, merely garnered 6,711 votes.
Bhardwaj, who was seeking re-election from the Greater Kailash assembly constituency, thanked AAP supporters and volunteers, urging them not to be disheartened.
"I want to thank all the supporters, volunteers, and donors of AAP and tell them not to be afraid, not to be disappointed, we win big battles by losing these small battles, so there is nothing to be afraid of. We will come forward again. I think as an MLA we did whatever we could for our people," he said.
Suggesting that his chances of winning from the Greater Kailash seat were high, Bhardwaj said that they would analyse the results.
"We will analyse the result, why this result came, because all the reporters who came to my area, all the common people who came to campaign, everyone had seen that our graph was very high. The approval rating was very high. Even the staunch supporters of BJP used to say that we will win the elections this time, but it is not appropriate to comment at this time," Bhardwaj said.
Meanwhile, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal lost the New Delhi assembly seat to BJP's Parvesh Verma by a margin of 4089 votes, the ECI declared on Saturday.
Kejriwal has been representing the New Delhi seat for over 10 years since winning against the then Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit in the 2013 assembly polls.
The EC data shows that the BJP candidate got 30,088 votes, whereas the AAP chief got 25,999 votes while Congress' Sandeep Dikshit, also contesting from the same seat, showed a dismal performance, getting only 4568 votes.
Earlier in the day, BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj on Saturday said that people in Delhi have voted against 10 years of "misgovernance" of the AAP. She added that people here have put their trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to the latest update from the ECI, BJP is ahead on 48 seats, having won 41 and leading on seven seats. While, AAP is ahead on 22, having won 20 and leading on two seats. Congress has failed to even open its account in the Delhi elections for the third straight time.
Polling for the 70-member Assembly was held on February 5, with a total voter turnout recorded at 60.54 per cent.
