The counting of votes for the Delhi Assembly elections began early this morning, setting the stage for what could be a tightly contested battle between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). While the AAP has remained confident of retaining power and securing a fourth term for Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, early trends indicate that the party’s top leaders, including Kejriwal, Atishi, and Manish Sisodia, are trailing in their respective constituencies.
Arvind Kejriwal, contesting from the New Delhi assembly seat, is currently behind BJP’s Parvesh Verma. His close ally and former Education Minister, Manish Sisodia, is also trailing in Jangpura, while Atishi, the sitting Chief Minister of Delhi, is facing a tough contest from BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri in Kalkaji.
Despite the setbacks, AAP’s Amanatullah Khan, a two-time MLA from Okhla, is leading in his seat. Delhi ministers Gopal Rai and Satyendar Jain, who is currently out on bail in a money laundering case, are also leading from Babarpur.
Meanwhile, Avadh Ojha, a former IAS exam coach who joined AAP just ahead of the elections, is trailing from Patparganj, which was previously represented by Sisodia. Durgesh Pathak, AAP’s candidate from Rajinder Nagar, is also behind his BJP rival as per the early trends.
AAP’s campaign has been centered on its ‘Delhi model’ of governance, highlighting its achievements in education, healthcare, and public services. The party has also aggressively countered BJP’s allegations of corruption against its leadership. Chief Minister Atishi expressed confidence this morning, asserting that the AAP would return to power, calling the election a “battle between good and evil.” Cabinet colleague Saurabh Bharadwaj also predicted that AAP would secure at least 40-45 seats in the assembly.
As the vote counting continues, the final results are expected to reveal whether the AAP can hold on to its position or if the BJP will make significant gains.