Sandeep Dikshit, Congress candidate from New Delhi Assembly seat, sharing his first reaction on the party’s disappointing performance in the elections, admitted that the party “failed” to make a place in the hearts of the Delhiites, which is “disappointing.”
With Congress nowhere to be seen making a lead in the 70-member Assembly seats as the counting is underway for the national Capital, the BJP is seen crossing the halfway mark with 46 seats while the AAP is leading in 24 seats, according to early trends from the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Speaking to IANS, Dikshit said, “We hoped that we would get 12-13 percent of votes, but we did not get it. We wanted to make a place for Congress in the hearts of the public but failed and it is disappointing.”
Commenting on the reasons behind Congress not opening an account, he added, “We cannot say what the reason is as of now. Maybe people wanted to vote for Congress but were not sure if it would win and form a government in Delhi, hence they did not vote for us.”
The New Delhi Assembly seat saw a three-cornered contest between Dikshit, AAP national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and BJP’s Parvesh Verma.
This seat is witnessing a fierce see-saw battle between Kejriwal and Verma, while Dikshit remains significantly behind. In the latest update, Kejriwal is now trailing Verma in a nail-biting, high-profile contest.
“Kejriwal is leading by a short margin, but the results are still awaited,” he said, further noting that the “BJP is leading in around 46 seats, so it is clear that it will form a government here, however, the picture will be more clear in a another hour.”
The Delhi Assembly election result, which will be declared today, will determine whether Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP will hold its fortress and come to power for a fourth term or if the BJP will make a comeback in the national capital after nearly three decades.
The counting of votes began at 8 am across all 70 constituencies. Several exit polls have given the BJP an edge over the AAP, which has been in power in Delhi since 2015.
According to exit poll predictions, the BJP will win at least 45 to 55 of Delhi’s 70 seats, while the ruling AAP is expected to suffer major losses. Congress, looking for gains after drawing a blank in the last two elections, is likely to get only one seat.
(With inputs from IANS)
