Delhi Election Result 2020: AAP heads for big win; Akhilesh Yadav congratulates Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi, Feb 11: Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is all set to witness a resounding victory in the Delhi assembly elections to retain power for a third term.

On Tuesday, the votes for the February 8 elections were counted where the AAP was leading in 58 of 70 seats and the BJP in 12. However, Congress, the nation's grand-old party was virtually decimated in a city it had ruled for three consecutive terms under Sheila Dikshit.

The elections, that took place in the national capital between massive protests in the city over the Centre's decision on the new citizenship law, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR).

The BJP faced charges of carrying out a "divisive" campaign to polarise the voters by consistently highlighting the over 50-day demonstration by a group of women in Shaheen Bagh area.

Though BJP's campaign focused on national security issues, the AAP mainly focused on its achievements in the fields of education, healthcare and infrastructure. In 2015, the AAP had registered a sensational victory by bagging 67 seats that almost wiped the BJP and Congress out.

According to the recent election trends, Kejriwal, a former Indian Revenue Service officer, is leading in New Delhi constituency by over 6,300 votes, while his deputy Manish Sisodia was 754 votes behind BJP's Ravinder Singh Negi in Patparganj.

While Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot was leading by 1,115 votes from Najafgarh constituency, Health Minister Satyendar Jain was leading by 309 votes in Shakur Basti constituency.

Labour Minister Gopal Rai was leading in Babarpur and Food and Civil Supplies Minister Imran Hussain in Ballimaran.

Meanwhile, Arvind Kejriwal is expected to address party workers and the media later today. AAP party workers were upbeat and in celebratory mode.

"We have been saying since the beginning that the upcoming polls will be fought on the basis of work done by us. You wait and watch, we will register a massive win," AAP spokesperson Sanjay Singh told reporters.

"We hope we get such a clear majority that a message goes out that doing Hindu-Muslim politics will not work anymore," Fareen Khan, an AAP volunteer said at the party office.

The headquarters were decorated with blue and white balloons and big cutouts of Kejriwal were placed in different parts of the office. Counting centres are spread across 21 locations in 11 districts, including at the CWG Sports Complex in east Delhi, NSIT Dwarka in west Delhi, Meerabai Institute of Technology and GB Pant Institute of Technology in southeast Delhi, Sir CV Raman ITI, Dheerpur in central Delhi, and Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Bawana in north Delhi.

A total of 672 candidates, including 593 men and 79 women, were on the fray for the hotly contested, often divisive polls with the anti-CAA protests in Shaheen Bagh occupying the centre stage towards the end of the campaign.

While the AAP, of course, keeping Arvind Kejriwal forward, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were among those who extensively campaigned for the BJP.

The Congress, which is still recovering from the demise of its three-time Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit in July 2019, got into campaign mode much later. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh and party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were among those who campaigned for the Congress.