BJP wins 40 seats in Delhi, Kejriwal loses New Delhi constituency

New Delhi | The BJP won 40 seats and AAP 19 in the Delhi Assembly elections results of which were announced on Saturday.

AAP national convenor and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal faced a major setback, losing the high-profile New Delhi seat to BJP's Parvesh Verma by a margin of 4,089 votes.

After getting majority in the Delhi Assembly, the BJP is set to form government in Delhi after more than 26 years.

According to the latest Election Commission (EC) data, the BJP has won 40 seats and is leading in 8 seats, while the Kejriwal-led AAP has secured a total of 20 seats and is leading in two more.

Former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has conceded defeat by 675 votes to the BJP's Tarvinder Singh Marwah in Jangpura.

Parvesh Verma, the son of former chief minister Sahib Singh Verma, told reporters that the credit for his “victory” belonged to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the people of Delhi.

Top AAP leaders, including Kejriwal and Sisodia — who served as chief minister and deputy chief minister for most of the last two terms — have lost the elections.

Saurabh Bharadwaj, another prominent leader and a minister, lost to BJP's Shikha Roy by a margin of 3,188 votes in Greater Kailash.

However, three AAP ministers — Gopal Rai, Mukesh Ahlawat, and Imran Hussain — emerged as the saving grace for the party, securing victories amid a likely wave of losses for senior leaders.

Hussain won from Ballimaran with a margin of 29,823 votes, Rai secured Babarpur with 18,994 votes, and Ahlawat claimed Sultanpur Majra with a margin of 17,126 votes.

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Atishi also won the Kalkaji seat, defeating BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri.

BJP candidate Mohan Singh Bisht won the Mustafabad seat by 17,578 votes, while his colleague Kapil Mishra secured victory in Karawal Nagar with a margin of 23,355 votes.

AAP's Virender Singh Kadian won the Delhi Cantt seat by 2,029 votes while Kuldeep Kumar defeated his closest rival by a margin of 6,293 in Kondli.

The Kejriwal-led party's Sahi Ram won from Tughlakabad by 14,711 votes, Mukesh Ahlawat from Sultanpur Majra by 17,126 votes, Jarnail Singh from Tilak Nagar by 11,656 votes, and Imran Hussain from Ballimaran by 29,823 votes.

BJP's Rekha Gupta won the Shalimar Bagh seat, defeating her AAP rival by 29,595 votes, while Manjinder Singh Sirsa emerged victorious from Rajouri Garden by 18,190 votes.

Tilak Ram Gupta won the Tri Nagar seat by 15,896 votes, Umang Bajaj from Rajinder Nagar by 1,231 votes, and Chandan Kumar Choudhary from Sangam Vihar by 344 votes.

The Congress is set to draw a blank for the third consecutive assembly polls.

New Delhi | Delhi Chief Minister and AAP's candidate from Kalkaji won the assembly seat by a margin of 3,521 votes defeating BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri.

According to the Election Commission, Atishi has got 52,154 votes whereas Bidhuri polled 48,633 votes with Congress' Alka Lamba securing the third place with 4,392 votes.

Atishi has won the Kalkaji seat for the second consecutive term.

The CM is among a few AAP ministers and senior leaders who won the elections as most of the party big guns have lost including AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Saurabh Bharadwaj.

With the BJP leading in 48 out of 70 seats, AAP is heading towards a significant defeat, managing to get only 22 seats.

AAP's defeat marks a significant political shift in the national capital, signalling the BJP's resurgence after 12 years of AAP dominance. The BJP will return to power in the national capital after more than 26 years.

New Delhi | Delhi Secretariat, the seat of the city government, was sealed to ensure the safety of official files, documents and computers, with assembly poll results showing a regime change on Saturday, officials said.

On the instruction of Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena, the General Administration Department (GAD) of Delhi government has issued an order directing all the departments, agencies, and camp offices of the council of ministers not to remove any records or files without the prior permission from the department.

As per the latest trends, the BJP is all set to stage a comeback in Delhi after more than 26 years, sweeping the AAP away from the national capital in another big win to extend its saffron footprint in the country.

The GAD order issued to various department heads and in-charges said that no files, documents, computer hardware etc. can be taken outside the Delhi Secretariat complex without the department's prior permission.

"It is therefore directed that necessary instructions may be issued to the branch in-charges under the departments and offices situated in Delhi Secretariat to ensure the safety of records, files, documents, electronic files etc. under their sections and branches," the order said.

New Delhi | Top AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, both CM and deputy CM for the majority of the last two terms, are headed for losses from their seats in the Delhi Assembly polls but three ministers of the AAP government were the saving grace for the party.

Gopal Rai, Mukesh Ahlawat and Imran Hussain, who were ministers in the Delhi government, secured victories from Babarpur, Sultanpur Majra, and Ballimaran, respectively, amid what is likely to be a string of losses for senior leaders of the party.

Hussain won with a margin of 29,823 votes, Rai with 18,994 votes and Ahlawat with a margin of 17,126 votes.

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Atishi, meanwhile, was also headed for a victory from her seat in Kalkaji.

Saurabh Bharadwaj, another prominent leader and a minister, lost to BJP's Shikha Roy by a margin of 3,188 votes in Greater Kailash.

Kejriwal has conceded his party's defeat in the Delhi polls. His rival from the BJP in the high-profile New Delhi seat, Parvesh Verma has already claimed victory. Former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia has also conceded defeat to BJP's Tarvinder Singh Marwah in Jangpura.

The Election Commission is yet to declare the winner from the New Delhi and Jangpura seats.

The BJP is poised to form a government in Delhi after more than 26 years, with the latest Election Commission (EC) trends showing the saffron party ahead in 48 of the 70 assembly seats and AAP in 22.

The Congress is set to draw a blank for the third consecutive assembly polls.

New Delhi | Results of the Delhi Assembly election are not a vindication of Prime Minister's Narendra Modi's policies but a referendum on Arvind Kejriwal and AAP, the Congress said on Saturday as it vowed to bounce back from another whitewash.

The Congress also asserted that it would form a government in the national capital in 2030.

The BJP was set to stage a comeback in Delhi after more than 26 years, sweeping away the AAP from the national capital in another big win to extend its saffron footprint in the country. The Congress was headed for its third straight whitewash in Delhi, drawing a blank once again after 2015 and 2020.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the assembly election results reflected nothing more than a referendum on Kejriwal and AAP.

"After all, at the height of the prime minister's popularity in 2015 and 2020, AAP had won decisively in Delhi. This shows that, rather than being vindication of the policies of the prime minister, this vote is a rejection of Arvind Kejriwal's politics of deceit, deception, and vastly exaggerated claims of achievement," he said in a post on X.

The Congress took the lead in highlighting the various scams that occurred under Kejriwal and the voters pronounced their judgement on his 12 years of "misrule", he added.

"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," Ramesh said.

"There will be a Congress government once again in Delhi in 2030," he asserted.

New Delhi | Senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday hailed the Delhi poll results as the beginning of a new era of development in the national capital and an end to the reign of lies, deceit and corruption.

Amid jubilation in the saffron party's camp following its return to power in the city after nearly 27 years, its leaders praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh asserting that a developed Delhi was extremely necessary to fulfil the resolve of a developed India.

The double-engine government will take the pace of development in Delhi to a new high, he said in a post on X.

In a series of posts on X, Shah -- who is credited for shaping the details of the party's poll strategy -- said Delhi would become an ideal capital under Modi's leadership.

The BJP is determined to fulfil all its promises and make Delhi the number one capital of the world, he said.

Residents of Delhi have shown that repeated false promises cannot mislead people, he said, asserting that they answered through their votes to the problems of a polluted Yamuna, dirty drinking water, broken roads, overflowing sewers and liquor shops in every street.

Be it respect for women, self-respect of unauthorised colony residents or the immense possibilities of self-employment, Delhi will now become an ideal capital under Modi's leadership, he said.

BJP president JP Nadda said the party's massive win was a victory of people's unwavering support in its model of service, good governance, welfare of the poor, and development under Modi's able leadership.

The "AAP-da" government in Delhi had crossed all limits of corruption, misgovernance and appeasement. The city is now free from its lies, deceit and fraud, and is starting a journey into a new era of progress and respect, he claimed.

Nadda said, "This historic mandate reflects people's trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for a brighter and more progressive future for Delhi." Shah said the results were a defeat of arrogance and anarchy.

"This is a victory of 'Modi ki Guarantee' and the trust of the people of Delhi in Modi's vision of development," he added.

The people of Delhi dismantled the "Sheesh Mahal" of lies, deceit and corruption and made the city "AAP-da free", he said, targeting AAP.

Mumbai | Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Saturday said a Congress-AAP alliance would have crushed the BJP in Delhi assembly polls, as counting trends show the Arvind Kejriwal-led party losing many seats amid the saffron surge.

Reiterating his allegations of irregularities in the voters list in Maharashtra which saw the Mahayuti combine winning big last November, Raut alleged a "Maharashtra pattern" was implemented in Delhi polls.

"It would have been better had the ties between the AAP and the Congress been good. Both parties fought against the BJP separately. Had they contested jointly, the BJP's defeat would have been certain. We should take lessons from this," Raut told reporters.

Raut claimed 39 lakh votes were added in Maharashtra during the assembly polls.

"These votes will not go to Bihar while some moved to Delhi. A Maharashtra pattern has been implemented in Delhi as well. The EC has shut its eyes," the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader alleged.

The saffron party is poised to form a government in Delhi after 26 years, with the latest Election Commission (EC) trends showing the BJP ahead in a further 43 of Delhi's 70 seats and AAP in 16.

Former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia has conceded defeat to the BJP's Tarvinder Singh Marwah in Jangpura while the saffron party's Parvesh Verma claimed to have defeated AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal in the high-profile New Delhi seat.

Raut claimed the Aam Aadmi Party was not allowed to work in Delhi while the LG (Lieutenant General) wielded full power.

"All important leaders were jailed, which is one of the factors for the defeat (of AAP). This is the Maharashtra pattern to finish leadership that stands up to the BJP," he alleged.

New Delhi | Sharing a picture of Draupadi's "cheer haran" from the Maharbharat, Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal said the Aam Aadmi Party and its party chief Arvind Kejriwal's "arrogance" led to their loss in the Delhi assembly polls.

"Even Ravan's arrogance did not last," Maliwal, who fell out with the AAP last year, said in another post on X.

Maliwal's post on Draupadi's "cheer haran" or "stripping" from the Mahabharat is a reference to her allegations that a close aide of Kejriwal assaulted her inside the CM's residence. This was when Kejriwal was still the chief minister of Delhi.

Maliwal's posts came after trends of the Delhi assembly poll results showed the BJP ahead of AAP and heading towards forming the government in the national capital.

Even two-time former CM Kejriwal was trailing on his New Delhi seat.

New Delhi | The BJP won five seats and AAP six in the Delhi Assembly election, according to the latest EC data.

The saffron party is poised to form a government in Delhi after 26 years, with the latest Election Commission (EC) trends showing the BJP ahead in a further 43 of Delhi's 70 seats and AAP in 16.

Former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia has conceded defeat to the BJP's Tarvinder Singh Marwah in Jangpura while the saffron party's Parvesh Verma claimed to have defeated AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal in the high-profile New Delhi seat.

Verma -- the son of former chief minister Sahib Singh Verma -- told reporters that the credit for his "victory" belonged to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the people of Delhi.

However, the EC is yet to declare the winner from the New Delhi seat.

The Congress is set to draw a blank for the third consecutive assembly polls.

AAP's Virender Singh Kadian won the Delhi Cantt seat by 2,029 votes while Kuldeep Kumar defeated his closest rival by a margin of 6,293 in Kondli.

The Kejriwal-led party's Sahi Ram won from Tughlakabad by 14,711 votes, Mukesh Ahlawat from Sultanpur Majra by 17,126 votes, Jarnail Singh from Tilak Nagar by 11,656 votes, and Imran Hussain from Ballimaran by 29,823 votes.

The BJP's Rekha Gupta won the Shalimar Bagh seat, defeating her AAP rival by 29,595 votes, while Manjinder Singh Sirsa emerged victorious from Rajouri Garden by 18,190 votes.

Tilak Ram Gupta won the Tri Nagar seat by 15,896 votes, Umang Bajaj from Rajinder Nagar by 1,231 votes, and Chandan Kumar Choudhary from Sangam Vihar by 344 votes.

Wayanad (Kerala) | With the BJP poised to form government in Delhi after more than 26 years, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday said that people of the national capital "voted for change" as they were "fed up with the way things were".

Priyanka, also the MP from Wayanad, told reporters here that it was obvious during the party's meetings ahead of the Delhi polls that people wanted change.

"They were fed up with the way things were and they wanted change. I suppose they voted for change. My congratulations to all those who have won." "For the rest of us, it just means we have to work harder, stay there, be on the ground and be responsive to the people's issues," she said.

Priyanka is on a three-day visit to Kerala.

According to the latest Election Commission of India (ECI) trends, the saffron party was ahead in 45 of the 70 assembly seats and AAP in 21.

The BJP and AAP have won two seats each, according to the ECI website.

The Congress, on the other hand, is poised to draw a blank for the third consecutive assembly polls.

New Delhi | Voters in Delhi preferred the 'none of the above' option over two national parties, BSP and CPI(M), emerging election results data shows.

As votes for the Delhi assembly polls were counted on Saturday, latest data of the Election Commission showed that NOTA option got 0.57 per cent vote share as compared to 0.55 pet cent of the Bahujan Samaj Party and 0.01 per cent of Communist Party of India (Marxist).

Both BSP and CPI(M) are recognised nation parties.

Congress, BJP, AAP and National People's Party are the other recognised national parties.

According to the data, CPI and JD(U) managed 0.01 per cent and 0.53 per cent vote share respectively.

The Delhi Assembly elections saw a voter turnout of 60.54 per cent, with 94,51,997 people casting their votes on Wednesday. Over 1.55 crore people are in the voters list.

Introduced in 2013, the NOTA option on electronic voting machines (EVMs) has its own symbol -- a ballot paper with a black cross across it.

The EC added the NOTA button on EVMs as the last option on the voting panel after a September 2013 Supreme Court order. Before the apex court's order, those not inclined to vote for any candidate had the option of filling what is popularly called Form 49-O.

But filling out the form at the polling station under Rule 49-O of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, compromised the secrecy of the voter.

The Supreme Court had, however, refused to direct the poll panel to hold fresh polls if the majority of the electorate exercised the NOTA option while voting.

New Delhi | Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said it is the need of the hour that Delhi gets a government which serves its people, as BJP leads in the Delhi Assembly elections for which counting of votes is underway.

Talking to reporters after addressing the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank, Sitharaman said the need of the hour for attaining the goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047 is that India's National Capital Region, should have a government which serves the cause of its people.

"... happy to know that because under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, we are very keen that Delhi gets a government which serves its people," she said.

The minister further said that she strongly believes 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, and people's healthcare.

New Delhi | The Election Commission declared that AAP's Virender Singh Kadian won the Delhi Cantt seat by a margin of 2,029 votes.

The BJP's Rekha Gupta won the Shalimar Bagh seat, defeating her AAP rival by 29,595 votes.

AAP's Kuldeep Kumar won the Kondli seat by 6,293 votes, while BJP's Manjinder Singh Sirsa secured Rajouri Garden by 18,190 votes.

The BJP is poised to form a government in Delhi after more than 26 years, with the latest Election Commission (EC) trends showing the saffron party ahead in 45 of the 70 assembly seats and AAP in 21.

The BJP and AAP have won two seats each, according to the EC website. The Congress, on the other hand, is poised to draw a blank for the third consecutive assembly polls.

New Delhi | The BJP is poised to form a government in Delhi after more than 26 years, with the latest Election Commission trends showing the saffron party ahead in 45 of the 70 assembly seats and AAP in 21.

The BJP and AAP have won two seats each, according to the Election Commission (EC) website.

The BJP's vote share till 12:52 pm was 46.90 per cent while AAP's stood at 43.24 per cent.

AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal was trailing the BJP's Parvesh Verma by over 3,000 votes in the high-profile New Delhi seat after 11 rounds of counting.

Former deputy chief minister and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia conceded defeat in Jangpura and expressed hope that the BJP would work for the welfare of the people in the area.

"I extend my congratulations to the winning candidate and hope they will focus on the progress and welfare of the people of Jangpura," he told reporters.

In Kalkaji, Chief Minister and AAP candidate Atishi was leading by 989 votes, the EC data showed.

Her rival Ramesh Bidhuri said, "The people will give the BJP a decisive mandate. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, Delhi will progress alongside the rest of the country. I can confidently say that AAP will be eliminated from the national capital." The BJP's Mohan Singh Bisht was leading by 33,164 votes in Mustafabad -- where the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) fielded northeast Delhi riots-accused Tahir Hussain.

In Okhla, AAP's Amantullah Khan was leading by 15,178 votes.

AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj was trailing by 3,646 votes in Greater Kailash while Gopal Rai, his colleague in the Delhi Cabinet, was leading by 27,148 votes in Babarpur.

The BJP's Kapil Mishra was leading in the Karawal Nagar seat by over 46,000 votes.

In Ballimaran, AAP's Imran Hussain was leading by 29,823 votes.

Saffron party candidates Sanjay Goel (Shahdara), Chandan Chaudhary (Sangam Vihar), Bajrang Shukla (Kirari) and Kartar Singh Tanwar (Chhatarpur) were also leading.

AAP's Durgesh Pathak (Rajinder Nagar), Anjana Parcha (Trilokpuri) and Veer Singh Dhingan (Seemapuri) were ahead of their rivals in their respective seats.

With the trends showing a significant lead for the BJP, its Delhi president Virendra Sachdeva said the national capital's next chief minister would be from the saffron party.

"The results so far are in line with our expectations but we will wait for the final outcome," he told reporters after offering prayers at the Hanuman temple in Connaught Place.

BJP supporters erupted in celebration outside its Delhi headquarters, waving party flags and dancing to the beats of 'dhol'.

Holding up cutouts of a lotus, the BJP's election symbol, they also smeared each other with saffron-coloured powder.

New Delhi | AAP leader and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday conceded defeat from his constituency Jangpura and expressed the hope that the BJP would work for the welfare of the people in the area.

“I extend my congratulations to the winning candidate and hope they will focus on the progress and welfare of the people of Jangpura,” he told reporters.

After nine rounds of counting, Sisodia was trailing by 572 votes

New Delhi | The BJP was set to stage a thumping comeback in Delhi after more than 26 years on Saturday, sweeping away the Aam Aadmi Party from the national capital in another big win that extends its saffron footprint in the country.

As votes were counted for the 70-member Delhi assembly elections held earlier this week, trends and results on the Election Commission website showed the BJP ahead in 48 seats and the AAP in 22. AAP veteran and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia conceded defeat from Jangpura while party supremo Arvind Kejriwal stared at possible loss from New Delhi.

The Congress, which had ruled for 15 years under Sheila Dikshit, came up nought in the bipolar contest.

Ground level issues such as water, drainage and garbage went up against volatile campaigns by both parties with voters grimly evaluating their quality of life in a hopelessly polluted city. The BJP pushed ahead and made ‘sheesh mahal' an oft recalled buzzword for the lavish chief minister's residence following the renovations by Kejriwal and allegations of corruption in the excise policy. It clearly hit home.

And the AAP, which saw its leaders Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia jailed in the excise policy case, countered with vigour to say it was just not being allowed to govern as it wanted to because every move was being stymied by the lieutenant governor. That didn't find the resonance it had hoped for.

For the party's national convenor and two-time chief minister Kejriwal, the face of the party born of an anti-corruption movement in 2013, it was a tantalising seesaw between victory and defeat in his constituency. As the morning progressed, Kejriwal was trailing, then leading and then trailing again. After nine rounds, he was behind BJP's Parvesh Sahib Singh by 1,170 votes.

Congress' Sandeep Dikshit, son of three-time chief minister Sheila Dikshit, was a far third with only 2,812 votes.

As one more line was added to the Congress' epitaph, the AAP struggled with its own existential crisis. A loss in Delhi, which it has ruled for 10 successive years, could signal an end to its national ambitions with now only Punjab in its pocket.

Chief Minister Atishi, who took over after Kejriwal stepped down when he was jailed, was trailing in her constituency Kalkaji by 3,231 votes. Kejriwal's trusted deputy Manish Sisodia was leading in Jangpura constituency by 2,438 seats.

It was a dramatic downslide for the party, which won 67 of the 70 seats in 2015, 62 in 2020 and could now end up with less than half of that. The promise of mohalla clinics, model schools, free water and electricity seemed to have lost their sheen.

The party, which had established its dominance over Delhi's political map by wiping out both the BJP and Congress in 2015, stared at a possible defeat of its leader Kejriwal.

The Congress headquarters were desolate, workers at the AAP office wondered if the tide could turn and their leaders were huddled in conference. At the BJP office, the only sounds heard were the drumbeats of victory and euphoria with workers celebrating the fact that their party was continuing the winning streak of the Lok Sabha elections when it won all seven seats in the city. Their party appeared set for power, having succeeded in breaking the spell of AAP-Kejriwal spell in the city.

BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said, "The trends show that the people have trusted the policies of the BJP under PM Modi. It shows that the people belonging to the weaker section of Delhi trust Modi's guarantees and the middle class is ready to stand with the 'Viksit Bharat Sankalp'." It didn't matter who the chief minister would be.

The next Delhi chief minister will be from the BJP but the central leadership will decide on who it will be, the party's Delhi president Virendra Sachdeva said.

According to Sachdeva, BJP candidates had worked diligently and Delhi's voters had chosen development and a corruption-free governance model. "The people have picked Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership because they wanted a model of development.” Asserting that the BJP would form a “double-engine government” in Delhi, he said, “We have no hesitation in saying that this win is a result of PM Modi's vision. We will ensure that Delhi gets a strong and stable government.” Taking a dig at Kejriwal and his party, he said the BJP fought the elections on real issues affecting Delhiites such as broken roads, liquor policy controversies, dirty water and corruption.

“Delhi's pain is real, and the people have voted to end it by choosing PM Modi's leadership,” he said.

Enthusiastic party workers cheered, waved flags, and chanted slogans, eagerly awaiting the final results at the party headquarters. Holding lotus cutouts, the party's election symbol, they smeared each other with saffron-coloured powder.

A man dressed as Aamir Khan's character from the movie “PK” said, “This time, AAP has lost on this planet. The broom (AAP symbol) is gone, and the lotus has bloomed.” Another BJP supporter, Samsung Ram, who travelled from Ujjain to show his support, said, “I came here for the Bharatiya Janata Party, and I stand here in the name of Narendra Modi.” For the party, the assembly win in Delhi comes after it bagged Haryana and Maharashtra (as part of the Mahayuti alliance). The reverses of the Lok Sabha election, when it won 240 seats, getting overshadowed with its assembly victories.

New Delhi | AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal was trailing by 1,170 votes from New Delhi constituency after briefly taking the lead over his BJP rival Parvesh Verma, according to the Election Commission website.

Kejriwal's vote tally stood at 18,097 and Verma had 19,267 votes at the end of the eighth round of counting.

The trends showed the BJP was leading in 45 of Delhi's 70 assembly seats.

While the AAP has dominated the political landscape in Delhi for the last 10 years, the BJP has been out of power in the city since 1998.

The Congress, which governed Delhi from 1998 to 2013 and was hoping for a resurgence, seemed headed for its third straight washout.

Delhi, with 1.55 crore eligible voters, recorded a turnout of 60.54 per cent in the February 5 elections.

New Delhi | The BJP is poised to form a government in Delhi after more than 26 years, with the latest Election Commission trends showing the saffron party ahead in 45 of the 70 assembly seats while the AAP was leading in 25.

According to the Election Commission (EC) website, the BJP's vote share was 47.01 per cent till 11.55 am while AAP's stood at 43.16 per cent.

AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal was trailing the BJP's Parvesh Verma by 430 votes in the high-profile New Delhi seat after eight rounds of counting.

Kejriwal's former deputy Manish Sisodia was leading by 3,869 votes in Jangpura after the fifth round.

In Kalkaji, Chief Minister and AAP candidate Atishi was trailing the BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri by 3,231 votes, the EC data showed.

"The people will give the BJP a decisive mandate. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, Delhi will progress alongside the rest of the country. I can confidently say that AAP will be eliminated from the national capital," Bidhuri said.

The BJP's Mohan Singh Bisht was leading by the highest margin of 40,598 votes in Mustafabad -- where the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) fielded northeast Delhi riots-accused Tahir Hussain.

In Okhla, AAP's Amantullah Khan was leading by 9,518 votes.

AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj was trailing by 2,039 votes in Greater Kailash while Gopal Rai, his colleague in the Delhi Cabinet, was leading by 25,105 votes in Babarpur.

The BJP's Kapil Mishra was leading in the Karawal Nagar seat by 23,352 votes while Tilak Ram Gupta was ahead in Tri Nagar with a margin of 8,557 votes.

In Ballimaran, AAP's Imran Hussain was leading by 19,326.

Saffron party candidates Sanjay Goel (Shahdara), Chandan Chaudhary (Sangam Vihar), Bajrang Shukla (Kirari) and Kartar Singh Tanwar (Chhatarpur) were also leading.

AAP's Durgesh Pathak (Rajinder Nagar), Anjana Parcha (Trilokpuri) and Veer Singh Dhingan (Seemapuri) were ahead of their rivals.

With the trends showing a significant lead for the BJP, its Delhi president Virendra Sachdeva said the national capital's next chief minister would be from the saffron party.

"The results so far are in line with our expectations but we will wait for the final outcome," he told reporters after offering prayers at the Hanuman temple in Connaught Place.

Meanwhile, BJP supporters erupted in celebration outside its Delhi headquarters, waving party flags and dancing to the beats of 'dhol'.

Holding up cutouts of a lotus, the BJP's election symbol, they also smeared each other with saffron-coloured powder.

New Delhi | BJP supporters erupted in celebration outside its Delhi headquarters as the latest counting trends showed the saffron party returning to power in the national capital after more than 26 years with a decisive mandate.

Supporters danced to the beats of 'dhol' and waved party flags, creating a festive atmosphere.

Holding up cutouts of a lotus, the BJP's election symbol, they also smeared each other with saffron-coloured powder.

The BJP was leading in 41 of Delhi's 70 assembly seats while AAP was ahead in 29, according to the latest trends released by the Election Commission.

With the early trends showing a significant lead for the BJP, its Delhi president Virendra Sachdeva reaffirmed the party's confidence in forming a government in the national capital.

He said the next Delhi chief minister would be from the BJP and added that the central leadership would decide who it would be.

"The results so far are in line with our expectations but we will wait for the final outcome," he told reporters after offering prayers at the Hanuman temple in Connaught Place.

The BJP's Kalkaji candidate Ramesh Bidhuri, who was leading AAP's Atishi, echoed Sachdeva's optimism.

"The people will give the BJP a decisive mandate. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, Delhi will progress alongside the rest of the country. I can confidently say that AAP will be eliminated from the national capital," he said.

New Delhi | The BJP was leading in 43 of Delhi's 70 assembly seats while AAP was ahead in 27, according to the early trends released by the Election Commission.

AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal was leading by 343 votes from the New Delhi seat after three rounds of counting. However, Kejriwal's former deputy Manish Sisodia was trailing by 1,314 votes in Jagpura.

In Kalkaji, Chief Minister Atishi was trailing the BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri by 1,149 votes after the first round of counting, the Election Commission (EC) data showed.

"The people will give the BJP a decisive mandate. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, Delhi will progress alongside the rest of the country. I can confidently say that AAP will be eliminated from the national capital," Bidhuri said.

The BJP's Mohan Singh Bisht was leading by 16,181 votes in Mustafabad -- where the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) fielded northeast Delhi riots-accused Tahir Hussain -- after three rounds.

In Okhla, AAP's Amantullah Khan was trailing the BJP's Manish Chaudhary by 2,260 votes.

AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj was trailing by 459 votes in Greater Kailash while Gopal Rai, his colleague in the Delhi Cabinet, was leading by 8,995 votes in Babarpur.

The BJP's Kapil Mishra was leading in the Karawal Nagar seat by 8,603 votes after three rounds of counting while Tilak Ram Gupta was ahead by 8,339 votes in Tri Nagar.

Saffron party candidates Sanjay Goel (Shahdara), Chandan Chaudhary (Sangam Vihar), Bajrang Shukla (Kirari) and Kartar Singh Tanwar (Chhatarpur) were also leading.

Durgesh Pathak (Rajinder Nagar), Anjana Parcha (Trilokpuri) and Veer Singh Dhingan (Seemapuri) were ahead of their rivals.

With early trends showing a significant lead for the BJP, its Delhi president Virendra Sachdeva said the national capital's next chief minister would be from the saffron party.

"The results so far are in line with our expectations but we will wait for the final outcome," he told reporters after offering prayers at the Hanuman temple in Connaught Place.

The BJP has been out of office in Delhi since 1998. On the other hand, AAP has dominated Delhi's political landscape for the past 10 years, winning the 2015 and the 2020 polls by whopping majorities.

The Congress, which governed Delhi from 1998 to 2013, is looking to stage a comeback after failing to win a single seat in the previous two elections.

Delhi, with 1.55 crore eligible voters, recorded a turnout of 60.54 per cent in the February 5 election.

New Delhi | Chief Minister Atishi was trailing BJP rival Ramesh Bidhuri by 1,149 votes from Kalkaji seat at the end of the first round of counting for the Delhi Assembly polls, the Election Commission website showed.

Bidhuri said the AAP would be "eliminated" from Delhi.

"The people will give the BJP a decisive mandate. Under PM Narendra Modi's leadership, Delhi will progress along with the rest of the country. I can confidently say that the AAP will be eliminated from the national capital," he said.

The voters in Kalkaji have prioritised development and will support the BJP, he said.

Asked if he would be the BJP's chief ministerial candidate, Bidhuri said, "It does not matter at all. I have been MLA three times and MP two times, positions do not matter to us." "I am here to serve the citizens. I belong to a party that works for the public," he added.

Early counting trends showed the BJP leading in 42 seats, while the AAP was ahead in 27. The Delhi Assembly has 70 seats.

However, television channels reported that the BJP was leading in 44 seats — well above the majority mark of 36 — while the AAP was ahead in 25 and the Congress in one.

New Delhi | The next Delhi chief minister will be from the BJP but the central leadership will decide on who it will be, the party's Delhi president Virendra Sachdeva said on Saturday as votes were counted for the assembly elections held earlier this week.

The BJP was leading in 38 seats and the AAP in 27, according to early trends on the Election Commission website.

“The results so far are in line with our expectations but we will wait for the final outcome,” Sachdeva told reporters after offering prayers at the Hanuman Temple in Connaught Place.

According to Sachdeva, BJP candidates had worked diligently and Delhi's voters had chosen development and a corruption-free governance model. "The people have picked Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership because they wanted a model of development.” Asserting that the BJP would form a “double-engine government” in Delhi, he said, “We have no hesitation in saying that this win is a result of PM Modi's vision.

We will ensure that Delhi gets a strong and stable government.” Taking a dig at AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and his party, he said the BJP fought the elections on real issues affecting Delhiites such as broken roads, liquor policy controversies, dirty water and corruption.

Accusing Kejriwal of avoiding accountability, Sachdeva said, “Whenever we questioned him on these issues, he either stayed silent or ran away. He tried to win elections by making false promises.” In his view, the people of Delhi understood their struggles and voted for change. “Delhi's pain is real, and the people have voted to end it by choosing PM Modi's leadership,” he said.

New Delhi | AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal was trailing behind BJP's Parvesh Verma by 74 votes in New Delhi constituency after the first round of counting, according to the Election Commission.

While Verma got 2,272 votes, Kejriwal polled 2,198 votes at the end of the first of the 13 rounds of counting.

Initial counting trends showed the BJP was leading in 36 seats and the AAP in 16. The Delhi Assembly has 70 seats.

However, television channels showed the saffron party ahead in 44 seats, well above the majority mark of 36. The AAP was ahead in 25 seats and the Congress in one.

New Delhi | As counting of votes for the assembly polls began in Delhi on Saturday, candidates cutting across party lines visited shrines in the national capital to offer prayers and seek blessings.

Counting of votes for Delhi's 70 assembly constituencies began amid tight security at 19 locations across the national capital.

The BJP's New Delhi candidate Parvesh Verma visited a Hanuman temple to seek blessings.

"'Aaj sarkar banegi (Our government will be formed today)' ... Exit polls are indicating the same. I prayed to Hanuman ji for a good government in Delhi so that we can work in alignment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision," he told reporters.

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP's Kalkaji candidate Atishi described the elections as "a battle between good and evil, work and hooliganism".

She expressed confidence that the people of Delhi would stand with AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal's governance model.

Badli candidate and the Congress' city unit chief Devender Yadav also exuded confidence despite unfavourable exit polls. "We worked hard and I believe the people of Delhi will give the Congress a chance." Alka Lamba, the Congress' Kalkaji candidate, visited a Kali temple and sought blessings.

"I had 'darshan' of Goddess Kali. My only aim is to serve the people. The party worked very hard and we contested the elections for the people and their issues. Whatever decision the people of Delhi take, we will accept it," she said.

The BJP's RK Puram candidate Anil Sharma visited Kalkaji Mandir prior to the start of the counting exercise.

Expressing confidence over his party's victory, he said, "I am 100 per cent certain that the 'lotus (the BJP's election symbol)' will bloom in Delhi, especially in RK Puram. I sought blessings for the same." Former chief minister Sheila Dikshit's daughter Latika Dikshit, whose brother Sandeep Dikshit contested the elections from the New Delhi seat on a Congress ticket, expressed hope for the party's victory.

Praising her brother, she said, "He ran a clean campaign, going door-to-door and engaging with the people. That is how elections should be contested." The Congress' Patparganj candidate Anil Chaudhary also expressed optimism.

"The election in Patparganj was based on love. People discussed development and I am proud that they remembered the work I did as the MLA between 2008 and 2013," he said.

The BJP's Patel Nagar candidate Raaj Kumar Anand visited the Jhandewalan Hanuman temple to offer prayers before counting began.

New Delhi | The BJP was leading in 30 seats while AAP was ahead in 22 and the Congress one, as counting of votes continued for the assembly election in Delhi.

According to the latest trends being run by television channels, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, who is pitted against the BJP's Parvesh Verma in the New Delhi seat, was trailing.

In the Kalkaji seat, Chief Minister Atishi was trailing the BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri.

Former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was also trailing in Jangpura.

The BJP's Karawal Nagar candidate Kapil Mishra was leading while AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj was ahead in the Greater Kailash seat.

The results will reveal if AAP's political dominance in Delhi remains intact or is dented enough by the BJP for the saffron party to return to power for the first time since 1998.

The Congress, which governed Delhi from 1998 to 2013, is looking to stage a comeback after failing to win a single seat in the previous two elections.

Delhi, with 1.55 crore eligible voters, recorded a turnout of 60.54 per cent in the February 5 election.