Delhi Govt Formation Highlights: Kejriwal to meet CM Mann, Punjab AAP MLAs on Tuesday; BJP continues discussions on names for CM post

Reacting to the Delhi Assembly election results, senior Congress leader Pawan Khera said, "Delhi election result is a rejection of the Trojan horse that attempted to damage the liberal cause across the country."

In a post on X, he added, "The meltdown of a section of so called liberals is completely bizarre. They didn’t give these lectures on opposition unity to AAP when the party went to Goa, Gujarat, Haryana etc to fight elections and weaken anti communal, secular vote."

Khera also wrote: "Majority of liberals are rightly cheering the fall of the facade so that the real champion of liberal values - the Indian National Congress - can emerge stronger to take the BJP on and defeat it."

Popular online educator Avadh Ojha, who contested on an Aam Aadmi Party ticket from the Patparganj constituency, lost to BJP's Ravinder Singh Negi.

The seat was earlier held by senior AAP leader and former Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia.

BJP candidate Arvinder Singh Lovely won from the Gandhi Nagar constituency by a margin of 12,748 votes, defeating AAP's Naveen Chaudhary and Congress's Kamal Arora.

Lovely, initially a Congress leader and a close confidante of former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit, joined the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.

Former Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot, who had quit AAP and joined BJP ahead of the Assembly election, won from the Bijwasan constituency by a margin of 11,276 votes.

In the previous Assembly, Gahlot had represented the Najafgarh constituency. BJP's Neelam Pehelwan won from the seat this time.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu extended his congratulations to the Bharatiya Janata Party for its victory in the Delhi Assembly elections.

He called the win a "a resounding endorsement of the progressive policies of the NDA government".

In a post on X, Naidu wrote: "This victory in Delhi, which follows Haryana and Maharashtra, reflects the continued trust and confidence of the people in the visionary leadership of the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi Ji, and his devotion to building a Viksit Bharat. I am confident that this mandate will usher in a new era of growth, development, and prosperity for our national capital."

BJP candidate Neelam Pahalwan won from the Najafgarh constituency by a margin of 29,009 votes.

The seat was earlier held by former Delhi minister Kailash Gahlot, who left AAP and joined BJP ahead of the elections.

BJP candidate Harish Khurana won from the Moti Nagar constituency by a margin of 11,657 votes.

He is the son of former Delhi CM, Madan Lal Khurana, popularly known as ‘Dilli ka sher’.

Incumbent Delhi CM and senior AAP leader Atishi retained her Kalkaji seat by a margin of 3,521 votes.

She defeated BJP candidate and former South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri.

Congress candidate Alka Lamba came in third.

BJP’s Parvesh Verma and Tarvinder Singh Marwah emerged as giant-slayers in the Delhi Assembly elections, defeating AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia. Verma won the New Delhi seat by 4,089 votes, securing 30,088 to Kejriwal's 25,999, while Congress candidate Sandeep Dikshit finished third. In Jangpura, Marwah narrowly beat Sisodia by 675 votes. These losses mark a significant setback for AAP, signaling a resurgence for BJP, which leads in 48 of 70 seats, ending AAP’s 12-year dominance in Delhi.

1. Arvind Kejriwal and senior AAP leaders, including Manish Sisodia, Somnath Bharti, and Saurabh Bharadwaj, lost in 13 constituencies where Congress votes exceeded BJP’s winning margins.

2. Kejriwal lost by 4,009 votes in New Delhi; Congress candidate Sandeep Dikshit got 4,568 votes.

3. Other affected constituencies include Jangpura, Greater Kailash, Malviya Nagar, and Rajinder Nagar.

4. AAP’s internal issues and Congress votes played a critical role in BJP's victories across these seats.

As the BJP marched towards a win the Delhi elections, president of the party’s unit in the national capital Virendraa Sachdeva said: “This is the victory of PM Modi’s leadership, development and trust. The people of Delhi have expressed their faith in PM Modi’s vision of development... We used to talk about corruption in the Jal Board, Sheeshmahal, liquor scam, dirty water but they (AAP) never gave us an answer. Arvind Kejriwal always ran away from these issues... The people have ousted them from power.”

Senior AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj, following his loss to BJP’s Shikha Roy, said: “I want to thank all the supporters, volunteers and donors of Aam Aadmi Party and tell them not to be afraid, not to be disappointed. Big battles are won when small ones are lost.”

He added, “I think as an MLA, we did whatever we could for our people and we will analyse the result. I do not understand this result because all the reporters who had come to my area, all the common people told 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...”

Reacting to the Delhi Assembly polls results, Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal, who was recently at loggerheads with the AAP leadership, said: “Arrogance and pride of a person cannot survive for long, and what happened with Arvind Kejriwal is an example of this. Even Ravan’s arrogance was shattered, then who is Arvind Kejriwal? Whenever a woman was attacked, the person who was responsible for this was always punished by God.”

The Aam Aadmi Party faced a severe defeat in Delhi’s assembly elections, prompting criticism from INDIA alliance leaders. They argued that had AAP and Congress contested together, BJP would have lost. Rohit Pawar blamed ego and arrogance for the division, claiming a united front could have limited BJP to fewer seats. Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut echoed this view, adding allegations of voter list irregularities and citing leadership challenges as factors in AAP's downfall. Despite the alliance, AAP and Congress fought separately in Delhi.

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Saturday hailed the BJP’s superb performance in the Delhi elections as a triumph of “truth, development and vision”.

The BJP is poised to take power in Delhi after more than 26 years. According to trends and results on the Election Commission website, the saffron party leads in 48 seats, while the AAP trails with 22 seats. “Truth, development, and vision win! Defeat of deceit, lies and corruption! Like India, Modi is in the heart of Delhi too #delhielectionresult,” Khandu posted on X.

Bharatiya Janata Party's winning candidate from the high-profile New Delhi Assembly constituency Parvesh Verma said that his victory was not just his, but "the victory of the people of Delhi who chose truth over lies, governance over gimmicks, and development over deception. I humbly thank every voter who placed their trust in me.”

He added, “Under the strong leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, Home Minister Amit Shah ji, and BJP President JP Nadda ji, we will work tirelessly to bring real change to Delhi. This mandate is a clear message that people want honest, transparent, and development-driven politics. My commitment to serve with integrity and dedication remains unwavering.”

“A new chapter begins for Delhi, and together, we will build a brighter future," he said in a statement.

Verma defeated former Delhi CM and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and Congress candidate Sandeep Dikshit, former CM Sheila Dikshit's son.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath congratulated the Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for scoring a "historic" victory in the Assembly elections.

Posting on social media platform X, he wrote: "This victory is a stamp of the faith of the people of Delhi on the successful leadership of the respected Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji and his development policies dedicated to the benefit of all, public welfare and overall upliftment."

Responding to a question about BJP’s win in Delhi elections, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “Indeed happy to know that. Because under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, we are very keen that Delhi gets a government which serves its people and that is something which is the need of our attaining Viksit Bharat 2047. India’s national capital region should have a government, which serves the cause of its people and I strongly believe that the roadmap that the Prime Minister has set for the country, should certainly take Delhi on the top priority, and serve its people from every point of view for all the human development indicator-related issues and also the fundamental infrastructure, schools, hospitals, people’s healthcare and capital worth India’s Viksit Bharat aspirations.”

Congress MP and in-charge for communication Jairam Ramesh said that voting in Delhi “is a rejection of Arvind Kejriwal’s politics of deceit, deception, and vastly exaggerated claims of achievement”. He said that the Delhi results were “a referendum on Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party”.

“After all, at the height of the PM’s popularity in 2015 and 2020, AAP had won decisively in Delhi. This shows that, rather than being vindication of the policies of the PM, this vote is a rejection of Arvind Kejriwal’s politics of deceit, deception, and vastly exaggerated claims of achievement,” said the Congress MP.

In a post on X, Ramesh said that the “Congress took the lead in highlighting the various scams that have occurred under Arvind Kejriwal and voters have pronounced their judgement on his twelve years of misrule”. “The Congress was expecting to do better. It has, however, increased its vote share. The campaign of the Congress was vigorous. It may not be in the Assembly but it is definitely a presence in Delhi, a presence that will be expanded electorally with the sustained efforts of lakhs of Congress workers. There will be a Congress Govt once again in Delhi in 203O,” said Ramesh.

Congratulating the BJP leaders and workers over the BJP’s victory in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that it is a triumph of development and good governance. “Development wins, good governance triumphs. I bow to my dear sisters and brothers of Delhi for this resounding and historic mandate to @BJP4India. We are humbled and honoured to receive these blessings. It is our guarantee that we will leave no stone unturned in developing Delhi, improving the overall quality of life for the people and ensuring that Delhi has a prime role to play in building a Viksit Bharat,” PM Modi wrote on social media platform X.

Moments after the AAP conceded defeat in the Delhi Assembly elections, senior AAP leader and Delhi CM Atishi vowed to continue the fight against BJP.

As the BJP won an overwhelming majority, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, while reflecting on the loss, said that the party will be playing the role of a constructive Opposition.

According to latest trends, apart from Mustafabad, the AAP candidates are comfortably ahead in Chandni Chowk, Matia Mahal, Babarpur, Seelampur, Okhla, and Ballimaran. Five years ago, the party had won all seven seats by big margins. However, in the run-up to the polls, AAP leaders had admitted that the margins may see a dip.

Despite an underlying feeling within the community that the AAP had not stood by it, especially during the 2020 riots and anti-CAA protests, Muslims saw the AAP as the only viable option that could pose a challenge to the BJP. — Asad Rehman writes

In Deoli, Prem Chauhan of AAP is leading Lok Jan Sakti Party’s Deepak Tanvar by 32,119 votes after 18 rounds of counting. In Chattarpur, Kartar Singh Tanvar from BJP is leading by 4,275 votes after Round 21 against Brahm Singh Tanwar from AAP. Satish Upadhyay from BJP is leading in Malviya Nagar by 1,971 after 14 rounds against Somnath Bharti.

Following his win against AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, Parvesh Verma, while congratulating the people of Delhi, said: “The darkness went away, the sun rose, the lotus bloomed. Delhi has chosen development. This victory is of Delhi's faith, This victory is for the future of Delhi. Congratulations to all the people of Delhi for this new dawn of Delhi!”

In another big setback for AAP, MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj, contesting against BJP’s Shikha Roy, lost by a margin of over 3,000 votes.

It’s official. Parvesh Verma has won the New Delhi seat, defeating AAP supremo and former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.

In Rajouri Garden, Manjinder Singh Sirsa of the Bharatiya Janata Party achieved a decisive victory, securing 64,132 votes with an impressive gain of 18,190 votes. Meanwhile, A Dhanwati Chandela A from the Aam Aadmi Party faced a loss, receiving 45,942 votes, which marked a decrease of 18,190 votes. Additionally, Dharam Pal Chandela from the Indian National Congress significantly trailed behind, garnering only 3,198 votes, reflecting a substantial loss of 60,934 votes.

BRS working president was sarcastic while speaking about the Delhi Assembly elections today, congratulating Rahul Gandhi for allegedly making BJP win. “Congrats to Rahul Gandhi for winning the election for BJP, yet again! Well done,” Rama Rao said in a post on social media platform X.

After trailing from the Kalkaji seat for a long time, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi is back leading, although by a margin of just over 900 votes.