"Dilli waalon, I Love You!" That's how Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal expressed his love and thanked the people of the national capital as the Aam Aadmi Party registered a thumping win in the Delhi Assembly Elections 2020. The AAP won 62 seats out of 70 with close to 54 percent vote share while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was restricted to 8 seats and the Congress yet again drew a zero. AAP's star names Atishi, Manish Sisodia and Raghav Chadha also won from their respective seats. All the updates on Delhi Assembly Elections 2020 Results.
Arvind Kejriwal, who has won a third term now as the Delhi Chief Minister, thanked the voters and also invoked Lord Hanuman, with it being Tuesday, in his victory speech. His aides and winners from their respective seats, Manish Sisodia and Raghav Chadha, while addressing the AAP workers and the media, said that the people of Delhi had shown that Kejriwal "is a true patriot and not a terrorist." AAP MP Sanjay Singh, quoting BJP leader Kapil Mishra's tweet calling Delhi polls "India vs Pakistan", said, "Hindustan has won." Delhi Assembly Elections Results 2020: Three Reasons Why Arvind Kejriwal's AAP Won Despite BJP Resurgence.
These comments from the AAP leaders came in response to the many attacks that were made against the party as well as Arvind Kejriwal over the past one month by BJP leaders. While BJP's Parvesh Varma had called Kejriwal a terrorist, Mishra was reprimanded by the Election Commission for saying that the Delhi election was a contest between India and Pakistan. The Shaheen Bagh protests against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) were turned into an election issue with the BJP accusing the AAP of backing the protest.
On Tuesday, as the AAP emerged victorious, Arvind Kejriwal's MLAs, who chose to not react to BJP's attacks during the campaign for Delhi, responded saying that the people of Delhi had voted for "their son" and had shown that he was a "true patriot". Kejriwal, in his victory speech also chanted "Bharat Mata ki Jai", "Inquilab Zindabad" and "Vande Mataram" and invoked Lord Hanuman, saying "Aaj Mangalvar hai (Today is Tuesday)". He also offered prayers at the Hanuman Temple in Delhi's Connaught Place after winning.
While the Delhi election was being seen as one of the most polarised elections, it was AAP's "bijli, paani, shiksha" (electricity, water, education) narrative that emerged as the winner. With getting a third term as Delhi CM, Kejriwal has managed to silence his critics. All eyes are now on whether the AAP will go national. If one goes by the party's approach after the victory, with posters calling for people to "connect with AAP for the betterment of the country", it looks like Kejriwal may be looking at national politics next. For now, it's yet again AAP ki Dilli!
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 11, 2020 08:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).