New Delhi election result: ‘AAP will play role of constructive opposition,’ says Kejriwal after poll loss

New Delhi election result: AAP national convenor and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

New Delhi election results: AAP national convenor and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal lost the New Delhi constituency seat to BJP's Parvesh Verma. According to the Election Commission's data after 14 rounds of counting, Verma defeated Arvind Kejriwal by 4,089 votes. Congress' Sandeep Dikshit won 4,568 votes. Meanwhile, the BJP has won 37 seats and is leading in 11 others out of the 70 assembly constituencies, crossing the majority mark to form a government in Delhi. AAP has won 17 seats and is ahead in five others. Congress has failed to secure a lead in any seat.

The New Delhi constituency witnessed an intense electoral contest with key candidates including Arvind Kejriwal from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Sandeep Dikshit representing the Indian National Congress (INC).

The counting of votes in the crucial constituency, along with 69 others for the Delhi Assembly election, began at 8 am.

According to the Election Commission of India, the constituency recorded a voter turnout of 56.41 per cent. The outcome of this crucial seat will become clear as the votes are counted.

The counting of votes for the Delhi Assembly elections is being held today, determining whether AAP secures a fourth consecutive term or if the BJP returns to power in the national capital after over 26 years.

Key candidates (New Delhi constituency)- Result

Arvind Kejriwal (AAP) - 25, 999votes

Parvesh Verma (BJP) - 30, 088 votes

Sandeep Dikshit (Congress) - 4,568 votes

Who won the 2020 election?

• In the 2020 Assembly elections, Arvind Kejriwal secured victory for AAP by defeating BJP’s Sunil Kumar Yadav with a margin of 21,687 votes.

• The New Delhi Assembly segment falls under the broader New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, where BJP’s Bansuri Swaraj won decisively in the 2024 general elections, defeating AAP’s Somnath Bharti by 78,370 votes.

• Kejriwal had held this seat since 2013 when he made headlines by defeating Congress veteran Sheila Dikshit by over 25,000 votes. In 2015, he retained the seat with a lead of nearly 32,000 votes over BJP’s Nupur Sharma and Congress’ Kiran Walia.

• Historically, Congress has won the seat four times since 1977, while AAP has emerged victorious three times.

How have the BJP and Congress performed over the years?

• The BJP, which has not won the New Delhi seat since 1977, aims to make a strong statement by defeating former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in this high-profile contest.

• For the Congress, the battle holds symbolic significance, as Sandeep Dikshit's mother, former CM Sheila Dikshit, lost this seat to Kejriwal. Despite Congress' past alliances with AAP, Dikshit has been a vocal critic of Kejriwal and will be looking to avenge his mother’s defeat.

• A victory for the BJP in the Delhi Assembly elections would mark its return to power in the capital after more than 26 years, ending AAP and Kejriwal’s decade-long dominance that the party has been aiming to break.

• Meanwhile, the Congress, which governed Delhi for 15 consecutive years until 2013, is working to regain lost ground after failing to secure a single seat in the last two elections.